Zelenskyy asks Latin America to suspend trade with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke for the first time to a Latin American audience on Wednesday, calling on the region’s governments to suspend trade with Russia as part of economic sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has addressed international audiences, mainly from Europe and the United States, in videoconferences, but on this day it was his turn to speak to Latin America.

The Ukrainian president began his speech with a report on the situation in Ukraine in terms of loss of life and money, and then answered questions.

The videoconference was organized by the Catholic University of Chile and more than 300 universities around the world were connected to it, said its rector Ignacio Sánchez. A chain of newspapers from the continent also joined.

“Do not trade with Russia so that they understand that a high price is paid” for the invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in response to a question about what countries in the region could do to help his nation.

The “instruments” to help Ukraine have to be “civilized and democratic”, he said, insisting that the countries of the region must “suspend all trade with them (the Russians)”.

Zelenskyy asked the countries of the region to join the sanctions imposed by the United States and Canada against Russia, “to be more effective.”

He assured that Russia seeks to avoid Ukraine’s contact with Latin American countries, while urging young people and leaders of the region to visit his country, so that they can then convey the situation that Ukraine is experiencing.

“I believe that we do not have enough communications between our countries at the level of leaders, at the level of bilateral relations, and I believe that it has to be corrected,” he said.

He immediately stressed that “what matters to us is that the countries of Latin America know the truth and share our truth with others.”

Before the start of the videoconference, the host told those present and those who connected online that President Gabriel Boric and his Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola were invited to the event, but excused themselves due to scheduling problems. The Chilean president has repeatedly expressed his support for Ukraine and has condemned the Russian invasion.

“I would like that after this terrible situation that we are going through now, each country understands the importance of respecting the sovereignty of other nations,” Zelenskyy concluded.

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