No explicit condemnation: Russia’s allies cause a scandal at the EU summit Cassis confirms Switzerland’s will to reach an agreement with the EU

The EU’s first major summit with Latin American and Caribbean countries in eight years was overshadowed by disputes over a declaration on the war in Ukraine. During the two-day meeting in Brussels, countries linked to Russia such as Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba managed to ensure that the text contained no explicit condemnation of the war and that Russia was not even mentioned. In the end, Nicaragua would not accept even a minimal compromise. According to diplomats, the reason was that there was a “war against Ukraine” and the “need for a just and lasting peace”.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) nevertheless spoke of a success and “great progress” because it had been recognized as an aggressive war. Only one country took a different position at the summit. “It is therefore all the more remarkable that such an understanding has generally been achieved here.”

The aim of the EU was to send a clear signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin with the summit statement. It should be made clear to the latter that he is becoming increasingly isolated in the world community and must fear further economic loss if the aggressive war continues. The hope was that powerful Latin American countries such as Brazil would influence smaller states at the summit meeting to persuade them to condemn Russia’s war of aggression.

In the end, the 27 Member States of the European Union and the 33 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) merely expressed their “deep concern about the ongoing war against Ukraine”, which is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating the existing vulnerabilities in the world economy. However, Russia as an aggressor is not mentioned in the document.

That a majority of the summit participants condemned Russia for the war of aggression is made only indirectly clear by reference to the voting record in the corresponding United Nations General Assembly resolutions. Russia was last asked to withdraw from Ukraine in February. In February, 141 of the 193 member states of the United Nations voted in favour.

At the time, however, Central American Nicaragua was one of only seven countries to vote against the adoption of the resolution. Of the Latin American and Caribbean countries, Cuba, Bolivia and El Salvador also abstained. Venezuela, Dominica and Grenada did not participate in the vote. This means that seven of the 33 CELAC states did not condemn Russia’s war of aggression in the UN General Assembly in this vote.

After the summit, Scholz believed that Russia’s imperial motives were increasingly recognized internationally. “My impression is that this is currently shifting globally,” he said.

The presidents of the Latin American G20 countries Brazil and Argentina, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Alberto Fernández, attended the summit in Brussels. Nicaragua’s president Daniel Ortega and the Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro were represented. Most recently, after the uprising of the Russian private army Wagner, both had clearly supported Putin – along with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

“We send our hugs of solidarity and support to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who managed to manage an attempted betrayal and civil war and guarantee victory and peace to his people,” Maduro tweeted in June. An official statement from Central American Nicaragua said President Ortega and his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo sent Putin “our affection in revolutionary brotherhood.”

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said before the negotiations broke down that a large majority of the summit participants supported a declaration that Ukraine has the right to territorial integrity and self-determination. However, at a summit like the one in Brussels, the wording of statements is determined by consensus and not by majority decision. This means that a declaration can only be made if no one objects.

It was initially unclear whether Russia’s allies can expect a reward from Moscow for their steadfastness in Brussels. In the past, there were repeated offers of help from Moscow for the three countries – sometimes also in the military field. Venezuela also received arms.

The dispute over Ukraine’s statement pushed the fact that the EU and the Latin American and Caribbean states agreed in principle to further expand their cooperation into the background. For example, the fight against climate change and its negative consequences must be jointly promoted.

At the closing press conference, Charles Michel, President of the Council of the EU, spoke of a “new, optimistic and positive chapter” in the relationship and announced that top-level meetings should now take place every two years.

There is also hope that efforts to conclude the free trade agreement between the EU and the South American economic community Mercosur could be completed by then. Brazilian President Lula, the current Spanish EU presidency and other participants have expressed their intention to reach an agreement by the end of the year – although no concrete progress has been made.

After years of negotiations, a basic political agreement was reached in the summer of 2019 on the establishment of a huge free trade zone between the EU and the Mercosur states of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. However, the deal is now being questioned again by several EU countries such as France and Austria. Critics fear that in the future European farmers will be forced into a brutal price war while fueling rainforest destruction in South America. (sda/dpa)