The Russian international minister’s three-day journey to Latin America has provoked nervous reactions within the US, the place it’s assumed to be a part of an anti-American agenda although Moscow has legit financial pursuits within the area.
Throughout the journey that began on Wednesday, Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to pay one-day visits to Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela – setting the tongues wagging in Washington.
The Hill branded the entire journey a “present of assist” for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom US President Donald Trump had simply declared a “dictator” whereas providing assist to self-proclaimed “interim chief” Juan Guaido.
Even Reuters has insinuated that Lavrov was “despatched” by the Kremlin to Caracas to one way or the other “counteract” American sanctions. The usual line of mainstream media shops appears to be that Moscow seeks to “strengthen affect within the area.”
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The truth that Lavrov’s go to comes lower than per week after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s personal allure offensive within the 4 former Soviet Republics – Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – solely added gas to the fireplace of hypothesis about Moscow’s symbolic reciprocation in Washington’s “yard.”
The mere chance that Lavrov’s journey could be fully unrelated to the US and have extra to do with Russian pursuits and insurance policies was not entertained.
Growth & cooperation
In an interview to the Havana-based Prensa Latina information company forward of his go to, Lavrov talked about that Russia and Cuba are working collectively on an entire vary of large-scale tasks within the fields of power, transport, communication, biotechnologies and even area.
“We cherish the truth that Cuban authorities give Russia a really particular position in modernization of their nationwide economic system,” the minister mentioned, praising the decades-long “traditions of friendship and cooperation.”
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Although Mexico is certainly one of Moscow’s greatest buying and selling companions within the area, second solely to Brazil, the final time a Russian international minister visited Mexico Metropolis was in 2010.
“We’ve one of many largest commerce volumes within the area with Mexico in addition to a wealthy cooperation agenda – significantly within the discipline of science and know-how,” Dmitry Razumovsky, from the Latin American Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, instructed RT. “This journey was lengthy deliberate to type out the problems that gathered over the previous years.”
Lavrov’s agenda is a realistic one.
Assembly with Mexico’s Overseas Minister Marcelo Ebrard likewise is sensible in mild of the brand new Mexican authorities advocating a brand new social and financial technique that might make them much less depending on the US, mentioned Oleg Barabanov, a professor on the Russian Excessive College of Economics.
US is trying to reformat it based on its geopolitical pursuits – #Lavrov on what’s been happening in Latin America in 2019
Why do you suppose the continent has seen a spike in violence this 12 months? pic.twitter.com/LFYSSgIbxI
— RT (@RT_com) December 28, 2019
As for Venezuela, Russia has “vital investments” in oil and fuel belongings there, Andres Serbin of the Latin American think-tank CRIES and the Latin American Research Affiliation (LASA), instructed RT. Russia’s oil big Rosneft particularly has shares in 5 Venezuelan corporations. That doesn’t imply Moscow shouldn’t be concerned about a peaceable answer to the political disaster in Caracas, nonetheless.
“All worldwide actors concerned within the Venezuelan disaster are in all probability in search of a peaceable decision,” Serbin mentioned.
Barabanov famous that Washington’s “blitzkrieg” technique in Venezuela has confirmed ineffective, for the reason that US protégé Juan Guaido did not overthrow President Maduro over the past 12 months. Now a window has opened for “enhancing contacts and growing financial tasks.”
“The aim is to guarantee that [Russia and Venezuela] are on the identical web page and outline a brand new technique of bilateral relations,” Barabanov instructed RT.
Relics of imperialism
Whereas official Washington has but to react to Lavrov’s journey, final month the top of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Admiral Craig Faller, described Russia as a “malign actor” that has a hand in “intentionally” eroding stability in Latin America.
“The US at all times tries to depict Russia as an aggressor,” mentioned Egor Lidovsky from the Hugo Chavez Latin American tradition middle. “However Russia helps legit governments via diplomatic and financial ties.”
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Although it’s 2020, the US view of Latin America appears caught within the 1820s. The “archaic” Monroe doctrine – declaring your entire Western hemisphere America’s unique space of curiosity – nonetheless holds say in Washington, Lavrov famous within the interview with Prensa Latina.
This primarily quantities to neo-colonialism, based on Barabanov, because the US treats Latin American international locations as some type of vassals, whereas Moscow believes they’re unbiased international locations and “nothing is definitely stopping Russia” from growing relations with them.
“The US fails to remember that Latin America has lengthy been an unbiased area,” mentioned Lidovsky.
As an alternative, Washington clings to insurance policies akin to sanctions. Each the 60-year blockade of Cuba and the current barrage of sanctions towards Venezuela violate worldwide legislation and punish the odd inhabitants, even because the US says it “stands with the folks” and towards the “regimes” it needs to overthrow.
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