Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Buenos Aires to witness on Sunday of Argentina鈥檚 new president, Javier Milei.
It is the Ukrainian leader鈥檚 first-ever trip to Latin America as Kyiv continues to court support among developing nations for its 21-month-old fight against Russia鈥檚 invading forces.
A political outsider who has railed against what he calls entrenched official corruption in Argentina and promised to uproot the political establishment, Milei ran on a pro-Western foreign policy platform, repeatedly expressing distrust of Moscow and Beijing.
Zelenskyy phoned Milei shortly after the Argentinian鈥檚 electoral victory, thanking him for his 鈥渃lear support for Ukraine鈥� which he described in social media posts as 鈥渨ell-noticed and appreciated by Ukrainians.鈥�
In its readout of the call published shortly afterwards, Milei鈥檚 office said he had offered to host a summit between Ukraine and Latin American states, a potential boon to Kyiv鈥檚 months-long effort to strengthen its relationships with countries of the global south.
Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials have repeatedly presented Ukraine鈥檚 war against Russia as resistance against colonial aggression, hoping to win support from Asian, African and Latin American states that in the past struggled to free themselves from foreign domination, sometimes turning to Moscow for support against Western powers.
Zelenskyy used the trip to Argentina to meet leaders of several developing countries. He met the prime minister of the West African country of , Ulisses Correia e Silva, on his way to Buenos Aires. Once in Argentina, Zelenskyy met separately with the presidents of Paraguay, Ecuador and Uruguay, his office said.
鈥淭he support and strong united voice of Latin American countries that stand with the people of Ukraine in the war for our freedom and democracy is very important for us,鈥� Zelenskyy said in a statement.
He also had a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, discussing 鈥渢he details of the next defense package from the French Republic, which will significantly enhance Ukraine鈥檚 firepower, and the current needs of our country in armaments,鈥� Zelenskyy鈥檚 office said.
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Karl Ritter, The Associated Press
