Argentine President Alberto Fernández on Thursday proposed in Moscow that Russia see Argentina as a “gateway” to Latin America, at the start of a meeting in the Kremlin with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“The environment is very favorable. Argentina should be the gateway to Latin America”, declared Fernández.
He recalled the excessive dependence of the Argentine economy on the United States and showed a willingness to break this dynamic in favor of relations with other “very important” countries, such as Russia.
Fernández, who said he was “deeply grateful” to Russia for providing vaccines “at a time when they were in short supply,” stressed that his country is sending Sputnik V shipments to other Latin American countries such as Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay.
“It is a great opportunity. It seems to me that this is the time when we can make progress in other areas. What I realize is that we have a society that is predisposed to moving forward with agreements,” she emphasized.
The Argentine president highlighted that Russia is “a highly valued country” for its support for his country at the beginning of the pandemic on the continent.
“It was very important how they supported us at the beginning. And the truth is, the results have been extraordinary,” she said.
He recalled that he was vaccinated with two doses of Sputnik V and that he waited, for the booster, for the arrival of new Russian vaccines – Putin replied that he did the same.
For his part, the Russian president said that Argentina was “the first country in the Western Hemisphere” to authorize Sputnik V. He emphasized that, although Fernández’s visit is “short”, the two leaders will have the opportunity to meet again. in Beijing on Friday (4), during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
According to the Kremlin, Putin and Fernández discussed “prospects for the development of the Russian-Argentine strategic partnership in the political, economic and commercial, cultural and humanitarian spheres”.
According to the Kremlin, the agenda of the talks also included topics from the international and regional agenda. “Argentina supports many of the Russian initiatives that are presented in the Security Council and other UN bodies,” said Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s adviser.
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