Panama City, March 28 (Prensa Latina) – The Vice President of the upper house of the parliament of the Russian Federation, Senator Konstantin Kosachev, reaffirmed today his country's interest in strengthening ties with Latin America and the Caribbean.
Kosachev, who heads the Eurasian nation's delegation attending as an observer the 39th Ordinary Session of Parlatino, based in Panama since 2008, held a press conference where he explained his first bilateral contacts with five countries.
Answering questions from Prensa Latina, the seasoned legislator specified that they held fruitful meetings with deputies from Venezuela, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Mexico; a list that could be expanded this Friday, when he also expects to be received by the president of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino) Rolando González.
On another matter, he did not rule out meetings of this kind with representatives of the National Assembly (parliament) of Panama, still to be confirmed.
In this regard, Kosachev explained that it is understandable that the countries represented in Parlatino have different positions in their approach to Moscow, although he reiterated that in the case of his country, there is a willingness to maintain ties with all nations in the region that so wish.
After the events in Ukraine in 2014 and the special military operation launched by Russia in 2022, about 49 countries in the world agreed to unilateral sanctions against Moscow, none of them Latin American or Caribbean, he added.
In his opinion, this opens opportunities to develop deeper cooperation, although he admitted not being satisfied with the current state of relations with this important region.
He was emphatic when he indicated that from a geographical point of view Russia is farther away, while the United States is closer.
He also pointed out that after Washington resumed the Monroe Doctrine, some Latin American and Caribbean states have found themselves in a more difficult position.
In that sense, he pointed out the differences that exist in the foreign policy of his country and the northern nation.
In our case, we absolutely respect the sovereignty of partners, we renounce any act of interference in internal affairs, and ties are built in adherence to the principles of equality, he emphasized.
These conditions allow for maintaining and expanding relations both bilaterally and multilaterally, he added.
For Kosachev, the more sovereign a Latin American state is, the more progress can be made in its bilateral ties with Russia, as that condition allows them to develop their own national interests.
We appreciate, he said, from the West and the United States a great pressure aimed at reducing the sovereignty of nations and of the entire Latin American and Caribbean region.
In this sense, he indicated that every state has the right to conduct its foreign policy, but any concession regarding its sovereignty ultimately reduces the possibilities of defending its own interests.
Asked about the role of parliaments in maintaining Latin America and the Caribbean declared a Zone of Peace in 2014, Kosachev opined that the current complex situation opens more space for the contribution of legislatures in the resolution of controversies.
For Russia there is no obstacle whatsoever for this type of conversation, he added; and gave as an example that at this moment a Russian parliamentary delegation is meeting in Washington to hold official bilateral talks.
As I expressed yesterday when speaking at the plenary session of the 39th Assembly of Parlatino, he said, there are no excluding topics, however difficult they may be, such as the situation with Ukraine that arouses doubts and questioning.
Kosachev concluded that his presence on the isthmus, after a nine-year pause in his country's relations with Parlatino, responds to the will to rescue and consolidate the ties of Russia with Latin America and the Caribbean.
