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Russian and Argentine Presidents Focus on Strong Strategic Relationship, Common View of Foreign Affairs
13 July 2014
(LPAC)—During their private meeting and press conference Saturday in Buenos Aires, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Cristina Fernández emphasized the strategic nature of their relationship and their shared view of international affairs and the problems afflicting the global economy. Following their private meeting, the two signed a number of agreements on nuclear energy cooperation, communication, criminal justice reform, and broader energy development. Some members of Putin’s delegation will reportedly be traveling to the giant Vaca Muerta shale oil deposit, in which Russia is interested in investing. Following Saturday’s meetings, Putin was the honored guest at the state dinner, to which the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Uruguayan President José Mujica have also been invited. "Argentina is a very important partner for us," Putin said to gathered reporters at the Casa Rosada. "It is one of our key partners in Latin America." He stressed how important it is that Argentina "has its own view of international affairs, a sovereign opinion, something that is rare in today’s world, and we thank it for that." Russia and Argentina, he added, "have similar positions in the international arena and our view of foreign relations are the same, or very similar." Russian and Argentine cooperation at the UN and in the G20, he said, has been especially "fruitful." In her remarks, President Fernández underscored that "we have reaffirmed our ties of friendship, and fundamentally, of our strategic ties with the Russian Federation.... We firmly believe in multilateralism, in the need for a world in which countries have no double standards, in which we can arrive at fair, equitable and legal solutions, linked to international law." This latter statement was clearly an allusion to Argentina’s battle with the vulture fund predators. Additionally, she expressed her belief that "we have to return a bit to the source, and yes, promote the reform of [international] agencies which obviously have had no answers either to the political or economic [problems] which the world is suffering...." Among the issues they discussed, she said, was the need for the "next G20 meeting to have a much broader agenda than it’s had to date, due to the problems existing in the world." Of particular importance, she added, is the need for global economic and financial regulation, noting that "President Putin also agrees on the need for global reform." The two Presidents were in agreement on two key questions, she reported: unrestricted respect by all the signators of the UN for international law and the UN Charter; and on a global scale, the need to regulate capital flows "which have practically turned the world into a financial casino." In this regard, President Fernández said that Russia’s forgiveness of Cuba’s debt, is extremely important. "It is not charity, but rather shows the responsibility of leadership." This is an example important to observe, even to imitate, she said. Referencing Argentina’s own debt situation, she added that "we’re not asking this for ourselves. We are a country that restructured its sovereign debt and is paying it — we simply ask that we be allowed to pay." But, in terms of Russia’s forgiveness of Cuba’s debt, "it would be a very important example for those emerging countries overwhelmed by the burden of a debt which they cannot deal with." Fernández pointedly remarked that at the last G20 meeting in St. Petersburg, in which Russia and Argentina supported a policy of non-intervention in Syria, "those who maintained that it was necessary to intervene [against Assad], are today seeking an alliance with Syria itself to stop the Islamic terrorists who seek to found a Caliphate inside Iraq." |