The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, proposed this Thursday (3) in Moscow that Russia see Argentina as a “gateway” to Latin America, at the beginning 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” , emphasized that his country is sending shipments from Sputnik V 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 perceive is that we have a society that is predisposed to move forward with agreements”, he 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.
03155213“It was very important how they supported us at the beginning. And the truth is that the results have been extraordinary”, he 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.
03155213In turn, the Russian president stated that Argentina was “the first country in the Western Hemisphere” to authorize Sputnik V. He emphasized that, although Fernández’s visit will be “short”, the two leaders will have the opportunity to meet again in Beijing on Friday (4), during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games.
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.”
According to the Kremlin , the agenda of the talks also included topics from the international agenda and regional. “Argentina supports many of the Russian initiatives that are presented in the Security Council and other UN bodies,” said Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s adviser.