Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the inauguration of newly elected Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday.
The Ukrainian presidential office said Zelensky was “on his way to Argentina to attend the inauguration of newly elected President Javier Milei.”
Right-wing populist and self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Milei won last month's presidential runoff in Argentina in a landslide.
What do we know about Zelensky's relationship with Milei?
Zelenskyy had congratulated Milei on his victory. Shortly after the vote, the two heads of state and government also spoke by telephone. Milei said he “offered Argentina to host a summit between Ukraine and Latin America.”
Zelensky thanked Milei for his “clear support for Ukraine.”
“This is well perceived and appreciated by Ukrainians,” he wrote on social media at the time.
Despite the often negative attention that Milei's style and domestic and economic policies attracted from much of the Western press during the campaign, he also took a pro-American foreign policy stance during the campaign and was critical of Russia and China.
Who else will attend the inauguration?
According to Russian state media, Russia's ambassador to Argentina, Dmitry Feoktistov, will also take part in the inauguration.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Milei's comments during his election campaign had been “noted.”
“But we will focus on and judge him primarily on the statements he makes after the inauguration,” Peskov added.
Several other heads of state and government from around the world will also take part in the inauguration on Sunday. These include Spain's King Felipe VI, Hungary's Viktor Orban, Paraguay's Santiago Peña, Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou and Chile's Gabriel Boric.
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, whose policies are much closer to Milei's than those of current President Lula, is also present.
What happens next after Javier Milei's victory in Argentina?
This browser does not support the video element.
rmt/msh (AFP, dpa)