The chancellor santiago cafiero defended this Tuesday against the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Argentina’s policy against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and clarified that the offer of the President of the Nation, Alberto Fernández, to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Argentina be the “gateway” from that country to Latin America it was for a “strictly commercial” issue, and highlighted the extension in time of Argentina’s State policy in the face of the conflict with the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands.
“What President Fernández told Putin was distorted. It was a business issue. simply commercial. The meaning of the visit to Russia was that of a president seeking to generate investment in Argentina”, Cafiero clarified during his visit to the upper house.
Before twenty senators, and for almost four hours, the chancellor recalled that “trade relationship with Russia is very low” and that the same thing happens “with Latin America”.
“That is where what the president proposes is inscribed. Let Argentina be a gateway. This does not contain any war or weapons content. It was strictly commercial. What the president raised is part of the commercial plan, ”he remarked.
In this regard, he assessed that “the escalation that occurred before the president’s visit was of a pre-existing conflict.”
“The international community was making efforts so that this escalation did not reach an invasion like the one we see today. President Fernández was on February 2. (French President Emanuel) Macron went the following week and sat at the same table,” he recalled.
In addition, the Foreign Minister stated that “There are no different internal positions” regarding the conflict in Ukraine within the Foreign Ministry: “The position of the government is the position of the Foreign Ministry”, he marked.
“It is not that the Foreign Ministry today votes for one side and then for the other. It is expressed in the competent forums. And at the right time. Also, Argentina has no rules to impose unilateral sanctions”, he asserted.
The minister also announced that the Argentina will not support the proposal of some central countries to separate Russia from the Group of 20during the meeting that will take place in the coming months.
“Argentina does not support the separation of Russia from the G20. We believe in multilateralism. This forum, which is strictly economic, must work on the economies of the world. Argentina does not agree to practice multilateralism without countries”, she sentenced.
Also coffee questioned the decision of the government of the former president Mauricio Macri to cut relations with Venezuela.
“We think that the foreign policy of the previous government was something very harmful. It was deprived to have first-hand information. It complicated Argentine businessmen who do their business there”, he emphasized.
In this regard, he warned that “Argentina stated that there are human rights violations in Venezuela” before the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The chancellor @SantiagoCafiero in the National Congress he was received by the Committee on Foreign Relations and Worship chaired by Adolfo Rodríguez Saa, accompanied by @ditulliojuli and Jose Mayans. pic.twitter.com/VlNRTHjTgB
— FdT in the media (@FdTenlosmedios) May 3, 2022
“In Colombia, in Chile, in Argentina we have human rights violations”, Cafiero listed and clarified: “When there is institutional violence, we see that human rights are violated. Is there institutional violence in Argentina? Yes. Well that is a violation of human rights”.
The principle of agreement reached between the deputy foreign minister of the government of Cambiemos, Carlos Foradori, and his counterpart for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, Alan Duncanon the conflict over the Malvinas Islands signed in 2016 was the subject of a series of discussions between the ruling party and the opposition.
The issue was cited by the Fuegian official Maria Eugenia Dure who spoke of “four years of demalvinization” during the government of Mauricio Macri and affirmed that “natural resources of fishing, trade and hydrocarbons were delivered” citing Duncan’s memoir, who slipped that during the discussion of the Foradori agreement he would not have been sober.
the opponent Lucilla Crexell He said that “we cannot give the Duncan memoirs an official status” and announced that he was going to “defend the good name and honor of Ambassador Foradori.”
The head of the interblock of senators of the Front of All, Jose Mayanscrossed Crexell and spoke of a “flagrant violation of Argentine sovereignty.”
“The statement that was released at that time does not have a signature. What the Foreign Ministry did was start a summary investigation on the status of the statement, not on the person. And the two hardest axes that the agreement had were dismantled: the point that enabled the exploitation of fishing and natural resources, and that of the flights”, replied Cafiero.
However, he added that “the Malvinas issue, no matter the governments or the political color, was always there”, and clarified: “Sometimes more withdrawn, but it was always there”.
