An attempt by Western countries to turn the countries of Africa and Latin America against Russia within the framework of the 59th Munich Security Conference ended in failure. This conclusion was made in the article of the British newspaper Financial Times, published on Sunday, February 19.
According to the authors of the publication, Western leaders during the forum tried to convince colleagues from the so-called “global south” that Russia’s actions in Ukraine threaten the security of the whole world, and not just Europe.
Representatives of Africa and Latin America, in turn, were more concerned about rising inflation, energy prices and food security issues, and not just the conflict in Ukraine.
For example, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that the whole world needs to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine, since countries “cannot continue talking” only about Ukraine.
Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez stressed that she does not want to discuss who will be the winner or loser in the conflict. She expressed her hope that European countries will pay more attention to the problems of climate change.
And the Prime Minister of Namibia, Sarah Kugongelwa-Amadila, during the speech said that she was interested in “solving the problem, but not in shifting the blame.” In her opinion, Europe would be better off spending the money allocated to Kyiv to promote the development of the country in Africa, Asia and the European Union, where many people still experience serious difficulties.
Moreover, according to the FT, distrust of Western countries is strong among developing countries, since the West refused to pay them compensation for climate damage, as well as for refusing to provide vaccines at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
The Munich Security Conference was held from 17–19 February. For the second year in a row, Russia has not participated in an international forum, despite the fact that a number of politicians and experts express concerns that building security and striving for peace is impossible without a dialogue with Moscow. This year the main topic of the conference in Munich was the crisis in Ukraine.
Earlier, on February 18, about 10 thousand people took to the streets of Munich to protest against the 59th Munich Conference. The protesters criticized the NATO policy and opposed the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
On February 16, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told Al Jazeera that Oslo was cooperating with African countries to weaken Russia’s influence. She noted that Russia’s influence undermines stability.
The day before, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, in a conversation with the Financial Times, called the idea of sending Western weapons to Ukraine unreasonable. In his opinion, the countries of Latin America are rather inclined to find a way of how this conflict can be resolved by political means.
At the end of January, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said that neither Buenos Aires nor other Latin American countries intend to provide military support to the Ukrainian side, stressing that the Latin American states are more interested in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
