The joint declaration issued on Tuesday by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union includes the expression “war against Ukraine,” as requested by President Gabriel Boric of Chile despite the reluctance of a few Latin American countries.
Mr. Boric urged his regional counterparts to recognize Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, something the Chilean leader said could happen to “any one of us [Latin American nations]” in future occasions.
"Today it is Ukraine, but tomorrow it could be any one of us," Chilean President Gabriel Boric says at the EU-CELAC Summit. "What is happening in Ukraine is an unacceptable imperialist war of aggresion that violates international law." pic.twitter.com/czHLSqqe3o
— Benjamin Alvarez (@BenjAlvarez1) July 18, 2023
“I understand the joint declaration is deadlocked because some do not want to say the war is against Ukraine,” he added during his speech. Mr. Boric described the conflict as “an unacceptable imperialist war of aggression violating international law,” and did not accept that this legal defiance in the context of war comes from “both sides” — he believes Russia should be seen as the sole “invader.”
The final text includes the language suggested by Mr. Boric: “We express deep concern on the ongoing war against Ukraine, which continues to cause immense human suffering and is exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy, constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity and elevating financial stability risks.”
Though he did not name names, Mr. Boric was indirectly talking about Nicaragua, the only one out of 60 nations that failed to endorse the statement due to a “disagreement with one paragraph” (the one related to the war), as expressed in the document’s footnote. The text was also highly criticized for not presenting scathing criticism of Russia.
Days before the summit, other nations such as Cuba and Venezuela — some of Moscow’s closest political allies — also showed concern around the use of hostile expressions about Russia, but later withdrew their reservations when more neutral words were added to the text.
Described by European authorities as “an opportunity to further strengthen the EU-CELAC partnership,” the event held in Brussels between July 17-18 included panel discussions on the green and digital transitions, economic recovery, and global peace and stability, among other topics.
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