Brussels (EFE) stumbling blocks
According to European sources, the latest draft of the text contains a reference to respect for the territorial integrity of countries in accordance with the United Nations Charter, but without specifically mentioning Ukraine, a reference that the EU does want to introduce.
“It is a pity that we cannot put that there is a Russian aggression in Ukraine. It is a fact, ”said the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, in statements to the press upon his arrival at the meeting that concludes today in Brussels.
The Chilean Foreign Minister, Alberto van Klaveren Stork, was also “very surprised” that some CELAC countries oppose a declaration on the war in Ukraine.
“We believe that it is a war of aggression. This is the position (of Chile),” said the minister, who saw it as “very difficult” to reach a compromise.
Nicaragua, against
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar noted that last night there were “only one or two countries that were resisting” and said that “sometimes it is better to have no conclusions than to have language that means nothing.”
Among the CELAC countries, Nicaragua – an ally of Moscow – has voted against condemning the invasion of Ukraine in the resolutions of the UN General Assembly, and Bolivia, Cuba and El Salvador have abstained, while Venezuela has not voted
The president of Celac and prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, did appear to be “quite sure” that he could reach an agreement on the final declaration of the summit.
More on track, according to the same sources, are the negotiations on the references in the text to Europe’s colonial past in the Latin American and Caribbean region, one of Gonsalves’ main demands.