In the midst of the war between kyiv and Moscow, controversy is growing around the attitude of Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. To extinguish it, the President of Mexico on Monday justified the presence of a Russian military delegation on Saturday at the National Day parade, which provoked the anger of the Ukrainian ambassador.
“We have relationships with every country in the world, and we invite them all. This does not date from my presidency, it has always been the case,” declared the left-nationalist head of state during his morning press conference.
A “tainted” ceremony, according to Ukraine
Around fifteen Russian soldiers from the 154th Preobrazhensky regiment marched in step on Zocalo, the largest square in Mexico and Latin America, to the applause of the president. With other delegations (Guatemala, Honduras), they participated in the “civic-military” parade marking the 213th anniversary of the launch of the fight for Mexican independence, finally obtained in 1821.
The ceremony was “tainted by the participation of a Russian regiment”, reacted the Ukrainian ambassador to Mexico, Oksana Dramaretska. “Their criminal boots and hands are stained with blood.” “What is the coherence, Mr. Lopez Obrador, of your policy of neutrality and your condemnation of the aggression against my country? », added the diplomat on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Mexico condemned the Russian invasion and voted in favor of a United Nations resolution that demands the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territories. However, President Lopez Obrador rejects sanctions imposed on Russia, or sending military aid to Ukraine. He repeats that his government seeks to promote peace through dialogue, in a position close to that of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
A year ago, the Mexican president suggested a dialogue committee for peace in Ukraine, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pope Francis and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In April, Ukraine’s president requested Mexico’s support to organize a summit of Latin American countries to stop the Russian invasion, in a message to Mexican lawmakers.