The foreign minister says that Buenos Aires will not place sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
Sanctions will not help to achieve peace and foster dialogue, according to Argentinian Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, who told Telam news agency on Saturday that he will not place restrictions on Russia over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The foreign minister said in Rome that Argentina wants to return to dialogue and that he met with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio.
Cafiero said that his nation does not have a regulatory framework for unilateral sanctions, but instead has a law that prevents these types of actions by the government. He said Buenos Aires addresses the challenge that the world faces today with a call for peace.
Cafiero said that the role of sanctions in the Latin American region has resulted in greater inequality and greater setbacks from a social point of view. Argentina was one of the few nations along with Mexico and Brazil that voted to suspend Russia's status as a permanent observer to the Organization of American States OAS over its actions in Ukraine. The resolution was passed earlier this week and was lauded by the US as a clear message to the Kremlin. The overwhelming number of countries in the US called for the Kremlin to end its war of choice, withdraw its forces and comply with international law, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday.
The US and its allies in Europe and beyond have imposed unprecedented amounts of sanctions against Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. Russia's financial and banking sectors, space and aviation industries and fuel exports are targeted by the restrictions.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied it plans to retake the two republics by force.