Latin American Nations Reject Pro-Kiev Position Ahead of EU-CELAC Summit

Ahead of a summit later this month between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the two blocs are disputing a number of passages in drafts of a joint declaration they hope to issue at the summit.

As part of the preparations for the Brussels summit on July 17-18, the two blocs have sent back and forth several drafts of the joint declaration, with one side adding lines while another deletes them. Of particular contention is an effort by the EU to turn the summit into another Western denunciation of Russia and endorsement of support for Ukraine.

The draft sent to CELAC by the EU reportedly included several paragraphs about the conflict in Ukraine, but the 33 countries of CELAC “deleted everything about Ukraine” when they sent back their version of the statement, according to one EU diplomat who spoke with European media.

nstead, CELAC’s version called for both blocs to “advocate for serious and constructive diplomatic solutions to the current conflict in Europe, by peaceful means, which guarantees the sovereignty and security of us all, as well as regional and international peace, stability and security,” according to one outlet that viewed the document.

In addition, CELAC has also rejected an appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Brussels summit, who was invited by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

"He invited me, but some Latin American leaders blocked the invitation," Zelensky told reporters last week.

While the EU and NATO nations have managed to rally some of their allies to condemn Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the vast majority of the planet has refused to heed their call to condemn and isolate Moscow. Relations between Russia and Latin America have grown in recent years, and the region has been a beneficiary of Europe’s boycott of Russian energy exports, some of which were redirected toward Latin American markets, such as diesel fuel.

But Ukraine wasn’t the only thing CELAC changed about the draft joint declaration: the bloc also added a passage calling for reparations for the African slave trade, in which Europeans shipped some 12.5 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic between the 16th and 19th centuries to perform manual labor on plantations and in mines in their colonies.

“We recognize the need for appropriate measures to be taken to restore the dignity of the victims, including reparations and compensation to help to heal our collective memory, and to reverse the legacies of underdevelopment,” the proposed draft declaration text states. It specifically notes “issues of healthcare, education, cultural development, and food security.”

“We acknowledge and profoundly regret the untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade of Africans,” the text states.

Over the past year, Europeans have sought to reinforce ties with their partners around the world to rally support for the international rules-based order Russia dismissed in its attack on Ukraine.

Brussels also has made an attempt to enhance political and economic ties with different world regions, including Latin America, with EU senior officials stressing the ‘like-mindedness’ with regional partners on a range of key policy areas.

However, the majority of Latin American countries have repeatedly said they wished not to be dragged into positioning themselves in the war they continue to see as a primarily ‘European problem’.

While Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has attempted to spearhead their own peace plan for Ukraine, senior Brazilian officials, joined counterparts from Ukraine, G7, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey last month to discuss efforts of bringing different perspectives together.

The summit cannot be ‘only’ about the Europeans calling on Latin American countries to support Europe’s fight with the Ukrainians, one Latin American diplomat told EURACTIV, highlighting the region’s own agenda – socio-economic development, environmental protection, and the prospect of a long-faltering trade deal with Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The counter-proposal the CELAC countries sent to Brussels shows “we are not on the same wavelength, or that the EU needs to work harder to convey its messages and not simply when it suits it,” an eighth EU diplomat said, pointing out that all references to fight against corruption had been erased.

In sharing what the Europeans see as a bold proposal, “it looks like they want to be perceived as equal partners,” they added.