The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, defended on Monday the participation of Russian soldiers in the parade that took place over the weekend for the anniversary of the beginning of Mexico’s independence. He attributed the criticism to a “scandal” generated by the local media with which he is in conflict.
During his morning conference, López Obrador downplayed the questions raised by his government’s decision to invite Russia to the military parade. Mexico, as he clarified, has always invited all countries to send delegations.
“It caught my attention because they also paraded from China and there wasn’t as much… scandal. “Everything was Russia,” said the president, downplaying the criticism. “We have relations with all the countries in the world and everyone is invited,” he added.
Representations from China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, among others, also participated in the military parade.
The participation of a Russian delegation in the military parade that took place on Saturday in the center of the Mexican capital for the 213th anniversary of the beginning of Mexico’s independence from Spain generated a wave of criticism, including that of the Ukrainian ambassador in Mexico, Oksana Dramaretska.
The diplomat pointed out that the commemorative event was “tainted” by the Russian military because “their boots and hands of war criminals are stained with blood.”
“How coherent is, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, your policy of neutrality and your condemnation of the aggression against my country?” Dramaretska asked in a message published on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Although López Obrador has repeatedly defended Mexico’s neutrality in the face of the war in Ukraine, some have accused him of being biased towards Russia.
Mexico was slow to show a clear stance of rejection of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and refused to support any sanctions against Russia other than multilateral sanctions approved by the United Nations Security Council, which fueled doubts about the neutrality of the Latin American country before the war conflict.
The Mexican leader also questioned the sending of weapons and money to Ukraine by the United States and other countries and proposed the creation of an international committee to promote dialogue and achieve peace in Ukraine.
Source: LA Times
