Brussels. The breakthrough came literally at the last minute: at a summit meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, EU states and 32 of the 33 Latin American countries agreed on a declaration against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Only authoritarian Nicaragua did not endorse the declaration.
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However, EU Council President Charles Michel spoke of a “political success”. Because at first it seemed that the meeting might even fail due to the different views on the war in Ukraine. That would have been a huge embarrassment for the EU.
The exact wording of the final statement was negotiated through Tuesday night and throughout Tuesday. Many heads of state and government in Latin America and the Caribbean are calling for peace talks and rejecting sanctions against Russia. These include Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Their governments repeatedly emphasize the negative effects of war on food and energy prices around the world.
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Authoritarian states step on the brakes
However, these countries do not go as far as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. The three authoritarian states, which maintain close ties with Moscow, initially refused in Brussels to condemn Russia’s war of aggression. The text of the final declaration was increasingly weakened in the course of the negotiations.
Initially, the summit intended to strongly condemn Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela did not want to accept this.
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The turning point came over lunch at EU headquarters in Brussels. The statement published in the evening now states that summit participants are very concerned about the war against Ukraine. This causes great human suffering and harms the global economy. A just and sustainable peace is needed. Russia is not mentioned in the document.
“It is remarkable that an agreement has been reached”
Among diplomats in Brussels, the wording was considered a comparatively weak form of condemnation of the war. Surprisingly, however, Cuba and Venezuela gave up their resistance. In the end, only Nicaragua did not sign the declaration.
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called it “remarkable that an agreement has been reached”. Countries that were previously skeptical also joined the declaration.
The EU’s aim was to send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin with the declaration. It must be clear to him that he is increasingly isolated in the world community and must fear further economic disadvantage if the war continues. The hope was that powerful Latin American countries like Brazil would influence smaller states to condemn Russia’s war of aggression.
Arrogant treatment?
At the United Nations General Assembly in February, just 141 of 193 member states voted in favor of adopting a resolution for a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine, which also urges Russia to withdraw from the country. Nicaragua was one of the countries that voted against. Other Latin American countries, such as Bolivia and Cuba, abstained or did not participate in the vote.
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Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren said on the sidelines of Tuesday’s deliberations that he was very sorry about the situation. It is very surprising that there are members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) who oppose any resolution on the war in Ukraine.
According to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the fact that not all states want to condemn Russia’s war of aggression also has something to do with the EU. The lesson is that in Europe, in recent decades, people have been “quite arrogant” in foreign policy and dealing with others, he said. “We didn’t answer the phone when they needed us. Now they feel that if we need them, they should do exactly what we ask,” added Rutte. Chancellor Scholz had also promoted a partnership with Latin American countries on an equal footing. Europe also has something to do with its colonial past, Scholz said.
You cannot sue for trust
Foreign politicians in the European Parliament took a similar view. “The EU should not complain so loudly when Latin American countries refuse to take a clear position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer told the editorial network Germany (RND). lost over the years.” However, it remains correct “to announce our position, because it is about the basic principles of the UN Charter”, said Bütikofer.
European People’s Party foreign policy expert Michael Gahler (CDU) criticized that the EU was too sure of its cause. “We certainly thought for a long time that Latin Americans would automatically side with us on global issues,” Gahler told RND: “The fact that we put them off for many years on issues like the Mercosur trade deal certainly contributed to the disillusionment “