Ukraine’s new ambassador to Argentina calls for economic and financial sanctions for Russia

The new ambassador of Ukraine to Argentina, Yuri Klymenkohe will soon have six months in Argentina.

He was appointed in the midst of the war after the invasion of Vladimir Putin’s forces into his country. He came almost towards the end of last year when the president Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to strengthen the presence of its diplomats in Latin America, a region with strong ties to the Russian Federation, a relationship which in some cases, such as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, is so close as to reach levels of high military cooperation.

In others, like Brazil, it has strong economic roots, and with Argentina, for very different reasons. Moreover, in February 2022, Alberto Fernández offered Putin in Moscow that Argentina would be the gateway to Latin America for Russia.

In his first interview with this newspaper, Klymenko said he wants the government to apply sanctions against Russia (the region does not accept this way against Moscow). “The most important thing is not to maintain financial and economic relations with Russia as before,” he will say when in reality, with the exception of the United States and the European Union, no other country has agreed to sanction the Russians.

A graduate of the Law Faculty and Romano-Germanic Faculty of Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv and the Center for Security Policy in Geneva, Klymenko is a career diplomat with extensive experience, particularly in international negotiations. AND

Between 2014 and 2021 he was Permanent Representative of his country to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva. In 2022, he worked as a special representative for the settlement in Transnistria. For three years, the Ukrainian embassy was in charge of its charge d’affaires Sergiy Nebrat.

How does Argentina treat you? Ukraine hasn’t sent an ambassador since 2019

I am satisfied. To be in Argentina and to work in Argentina, first of all from a professional point of view. So I appreciate more. I have many plans to strengthen our relations with the Argentine Republic. I think that together with the Argentine team we could carry out many projects of mutual interest in the future.

Well, President Volodimir Zelensky’s decision to send an ambassador has to do with his decision to have a greater presence in Latin America, more sympathetic to Russia…

Now the Ukrainian side, despite all the challenges in the security sphere, is very interested and very busy in strengthening our relations with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This will allow us to elevate our relationship to the highest level. And obviously Argentina is one of the leaders in Latin America and so we are very interested in developing our relationship. A fairly large Ukrainian diaspora lives in the Argentine Republic. Up to 500,000 Ukrainians live in Argentina.

How many Ukrainians who arrived from the war arrived in Argentina? (Russians around 22,000)

Not many. About 300 Ukrainians. And there are several explanations for this. First of all, you have to take into account the geographical distance. It is not easy to travel from Ukraine to Argentina. You have to take a train or bus from Ukraine to Poland or another European country and then take the plane. It’s quite long and also quite expensive. And there are many countries, primarily in Europe and also in the United States and Canada, which have offered to help welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Why do you think the Argentine government made a 180 degree turn? He has gone from a distant attitude towards Ukraine in its alliance with Russia to condemning the invasion

For many countries in the world, the large-scale Russian aggression against my country came as a shock. And some countries of the world did not believe until the last moment in this invasion, which started in 2014. I will say that the first stage was the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014. Finally, all those crimes committed by the Russian aggressors were discovered in my country, mass graves, massacre of civilians, missile, cruise and drone attacks against civilian objects, against kindergartens, against hospitals, schools, against residential buildings. The Argentine Republic has supported Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion against my country. Continue to support Ukraine in international organizations, for example, in the UN General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, where the representative of Argentina was the president of the Council in 2022, and now Argentina not only supports Ukrainian initiatives , but also sponsors many of them.

What more can you ask from Argentina? You called for Argentine sanctions against Russia, which did not happen

Of course, Ukraine in primis, and many countries of the world, including Argentina, speak of a just, sustainable and lasting peace. To bring this just peace closer, sanctions can be a very effective and much needed tool, because sanctions can stop the killing of the Ukrainian people. The sanctions do not allow Russia to find additional financial and economic resources to maintain its war machine, to produce more rockets, more tanks, to produce ever more drones. And that is why we emphasize sanctions. We know very well the position of many Latin American countries on sanctions (they are against it). But at the same time, I want to explain that it’s a tool. In the case of Ukraine, it is an absolutely necessary tool to help Ukraine, to help Europe and to help the world stop this large-scale war against my country. Stop the daily killing of Ukrainians by Russian aggressors.

What kind of sanctions would Ukraine ask Argentina?

Different. But you need to start in the first place, and most importantly, the most important thing is not to maintain financial and economic relations with Russia as before. As it was before. At least take the first step.

What information can you give me on the presence of Russian spies in Argentina?

I am not the body responsible for this problem, but Russia is very active. Active and your spy services are quite active in this region and. And the narratives they help to spread here in the Argentine Republic and also in the region can unfortunately influence the local society’s perception of what is happening. Before ending the interview, the ambassador also told Clarín that he had asked Argentina to study the “possibility of adhering” to the work of a court that judges the military actions of the Russians as if they were crimes. This special court body will attract all those responsible for war crimes as well as Russia’s top leaders.