Latin America does not support arms supplies to Ukraine: Mexican FM
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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard expresses Latin America's opposition of supplying Ukraine with arms.
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Mexico's Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard arrives during the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday Nov. 15, 2022 (Willy Kurniawan/Pool Photo via AP)
Latin America does not support foreign arms supplies to Ukraine and considers it a not-so-smart move that prolongs the conflict, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday.
"I don't think sending weapons to prolong a conflict has support in Latin America. Neither does it seem very intelligent because the costs are going to be very high for the European Union, for Russia and to some degree for everyone else," Ebrard told the Financial Times newspaper.
Ebrard believes that Latin American countries are more inclined to "try to seek or imagine how there could be a political solution to this conflict."
Other Latin American top officials and defense authorities said that they would not deliver Russian weapons to Ukraine, stressing it was "inappropriate" and it fuels the war.
"Even if they end up as scrap in Colombia, we will not hand over Russian weapons to be taken to Ukraine to prolong a war. We are not with either side. We are for peace," Colombian President Gustavo Petro was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that his country had "no interest in passing on munitions to be used in the war between Ukraine and Russia," according to the report.
Read: Brazil refuses sending tank ammo to Berlin fearing delivery to Ukraine
Brazil's President added that "Brazil is a country of peace. At this moment, we need to find those who want peace, a word that has so far been used very little," the Financial Times reported.
A Defense Ministry spokesperson in Argentina also said in the report that Buenos Aires was not going "to co-operate with the war," adding that "it is not appropriate to co-operate by sending arms to the conflict in Europe."
Read: Argentina turns down German request to send weapons to Ukraine
Since the war began in Ukraine, Western countries such as the US and Britain, as well as European states, have supplied Kiev with billions of dollars worth of weaponry, adding fuel to the fire in the war.
In February, Ukraine's government started negotiations with its allies on the supply of longer-range missiles and jets to prepare for a counter-offensive.
In September, the Biden administration delayed a request from Ukraine to provide longer-range missiles over fears it could provoke a lethal response from Russia - senior Pentagon officials have opposed the idea, according to two military officials speaking to NBC News.
Read: US maintenance of weapons sent to Kiev a "headache"
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned Washington against providing the missiles to Ukraine, dubbing it a "red line."
The Kremlin reiterated its warning against further escalation that could lead to direct involvement of US and NATO in the conflict.
It is worth noting that US media had reported that as Washington and its western allies continue to pump weapons into Kiev, maintenance of the armaments is increasingly becoming a headache.
Weapons overused by the Ukrainian military are either being wiped out or damaged during the conflict.
At least one-third of the 350 US-made howitzers sent to Ukraine are already out of action, according to defense officials in the US. Howitzers fire 152-millimeter ammunition and date back to the Soviet era.
Read: Time may be on Russia's side in Ukraine, say Western officials: WSJ
