One year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began and despite the rejection by a large part of the international community of the Kremlin’s actions, Nicaragua continues to maintain its support for Vladimir Putin’s decision to order a “special operation” against your neighbor.
Recently Nicaragua voted against of a United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, something not even done by China or Cuba, which abstained; as did El Salvador and Bolivia.
“Nicaragua is the only country in Latin America that has voted against this resolution that condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” criticized the acting deputy director of Human Rights Watch, Juan Pappier.
Pappier also referred to the abstention of Bolivia, Cuba and El Salvador. “All governments that fill their mouths talking about sovereignty and non-intervention. Curious interpretation, ”she indicated on Twitter.
Tiziano Breda, a researcher at the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs (IAI), assured the voice of america that for Nicaragua, beyond the historical relations between Sandinistas and Russians or ideological affinities, “Managua’s support for Russia has become an existential issue for Ortega.”
“Losing the political support and political support of a super power of this type would put it in a situation of even greater vulnerability and therefore this has pushed it to add unique situations in Latin America, which not even Cuba dares,” he considered. Breda.
In the case of El Salvador, Breda assured that “it is a whim of the foreign relations” of President Nayib Bukele who “assumes a position of neutrality on an issue that is taken with great importance” by the US, its allies.
Relations between Managua and Russia go back a long time
For his part, Evan ellis, American professor and researcher, emphasizes that “the kindness between Nicaragua and Russia” transcends questions of democracy or “what Russia has done in Ukraine” and goes back to its origins in the support that -at that time the Soviet Union- provided the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua led by Daniel Ortega between 1978 and 1979 to come to power.
Ellis recalls that in that period the support of the Soviet Union was key for the Sandinistas to remain in power.
“This was something that Ortega never forgot and when Daniel Ortega…managed to return to the presidency in 2007, one of his first initiatives was also to show his support for Russia, at a time when Russia had substantially ceased its activities in the region. “.
Ortega has also recognized the separatist movements in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as legal states.
Finally, Ellis indicates that Russia maintains this friendship with Nicaragua because this Central American country serves as a host to the threats that the Kremlin wants to project due to its proximity to the United States.
“Nicaragua was not only one of the countries that has rejected key votes in the last year against Russia, but has also strengthened its military relationship with Russia in this context,” Ellis ditch.
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