Mexican president criticizes US military support for Ukraine
(Baonghean.vn) - On October 2, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned US military aid to Ukraine, calling it "absurd," and stepped up criticism of the war effort while calling on Washington to devote more resources to supporting Latin American countries.
Mr. Lopez Obrador has long called on the United States to spend more money to support economic development in Central America and the Caribbean to reduce migration pressures.
During his daily press conference, Mr. Lopez Obrador criticized the US Congress for not providing money for the region, before referring to last week's controversy over a temporary budget bill that eliminated additional aid to Ukraine.
“I was just wondering why they are now not allowing aid for the war in Ukraine,” he said. “But how much have they spent on the war in Ukraine? 30 to 50 billion dollars for the war. That is the most absurd thing possible. And damaging.”
“So they have to change their strategy and learn to respect it. This is not the time to ignore the Mexican government,” Mr. Lopez Obrador added.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Mexico declined to comment. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Leftist Lopez Obrador has sought to maintain Mexico's neutrality on the war, while criticizing Western military aid to Kiev. He has also proposed holding peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Two weeks ago, the president defended the presence of a Russian military unit at a weekend parade marking Mexico's independence day, after harsh criticism that his country had given the opportunity to forces invading Ukraine.
However, his government has also supported several key United Nations resolutions condemning Russia's role in the conflict.
