According to AFP reports, President of Ukraine will not be allowed address Mercosur summit.
South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to speak at its summit, host nation Paraguay said on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency.
Mercosur member Argentina, Brazil Uruguay, Paraguay and Paraguay did not reach an agreement to invite the Ukrainian leader. Raul Cano, the Deputy Foreign Minister said that they had failed to agree, but refused to identify the countries that were opposed to the invitation.
“There was no consensus on such communication, that’s why the Ukrainian counterpart has already been informed that under current circumstances there are no conditions allowing to speak with the president of Ukraine in the Mercosur format,” the minister explained.
Earlier this month, Julio Cesar Arriola, Paraguay’s Foreign Minister, said that Zelensky had talked with Mario Abdo Benitez, the nation’s president, on the phone and asked for the opportunity to address the upcoming Mercosur summit. Arriola claims that Benitez said he would discuss the issue with his fellow bloc members.
Mercosur was an economic and politically driven organization, established in 1991 as a way to promote South America’s development.
After Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, Zelensky has addressed a slew of national parliaments and major international forums, including NATO, the G7 and the UN in an effort to rally countries to Kiev’s cause and help it fight off Moscow’s offensive.
According to reports, only a small number of African Union leaders tuned in to the virtual meeting that the Ukrainian president held with African Union members in June. Following the conference call, the President of Senegal and African Union Chairperson, Macky Sall, indicated that Africa’s position of neutrality over the conflict in Ukraine remained unchanged.
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