MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina, Brazil, Mexico not siding with OAS on Russia statement

The OAS annual assembly began Wednesday with a video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

The delegations of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico were among those who refused to sign a statement from the Organization of American States (OAS) condemning Russia's military deployment in Ukraine as the continental group's 52nd General Assembly kicked off in Lima.

A total of 24 American countries signed a declaration of support for Ukraine over the Russian invasion and condemnation of Moscow's actions. The document drafted by Guatemala notes the “immense concern over the indifference and disregard by the Russian Federation to the calls by the OAS for the withdrawal of its military forces from Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” It also calls on Russia to “cease hostilities and withdraw its military forces from Ukraine within internationally known borders.”

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Terrones highlighted during his opening speech that the joint work of nations helped the most vulnerable populations have their human rights respected while promoting the improvement of the quality of life in countries with extreme poverty. “It is a great honor to welcome you most cordially to this dialogue and, through you, allow me to greet the different workers' organizations, both in the private and public sectors, as well as the indigenous peoples, the communities of the poorest countries, and the social actors of the different countries, to the indigenous peoples, to the Afro-descendant communities, to those who represent the fifty-second session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States being held in Peru,” Castillo said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the joint declaration “condemning Russia's fraudulent referendums as a violation of international law. He also said he hoped the same countries would also support a resolution on the issue expected at the UN General Assembly ”in the coming weeks.“

The statement was signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, United States, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

”We reiterate the urgency of putting an end to this invasion and seeking a peaceful solution (...) we cannot tolerate the intolerable and much less tolerate the war that has affected us all so much,“ said the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Mario Búcaro, when presenting the document.

The OAS annual assembly began Wednesday with a video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged American countries to support his nation in the face of the Russian invasion.

The OAS already called in March for an end to possible ”war crimes” in Ukraine.