By Sarah Marsh
SANTIAGO, Jan 29 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to drum up support for Ukraine during his first South American tour although differences with his hosts emerged, with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez declaring the region was not planning on sending weapons.
On his three-day trip, Scholz has sought to stress unity, noting all three countries he is visiting – Argentina, Chile and Brazil – condemned Russia's invasion at the United Nations General Assembly last year.
The fallout of the war and Western sanctions on Russia such as soaring food and energy prices, however, have hit the region particularly hard, raising questions over the West's approach.
Fernandez said in a joint news conference with Scholz in Buenos Aires on Saturday that Argentina, like Germany, wanted to help restore peace as soon as possible.
But asked if Argentina would send weapons to Ukraine to fend off Russian troops like Germany and its western allies had, he gave an emphatic no.
"Argentina and Latin America are not planning to send weapons to Ukraine or any other conflict zone," he said.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric did not refer to the war in his opening statements at a news conference with Scholz in Santiago de Chile on Sunday, focusing instead on economic cooperation, particularly in the commodities sector.
In both countries, Scholz visited memorials to the victims of their military dictatorships that he said underscored the need to fight for democracy and freedom.
"At this memorial to the many victims of the dictatorship here I cannot help but think of the young people who are being killed in Iran because they are fighting for freedom and a better life," he said in Buenos Aires.
German government officials say it is understandable Latin American countries, so far away from Europe and with such different concerns, have diverging views on the war, but highlighted the importance of continuing to convey Berlin's perspective.
Scholz heads on Monday to Brazil to become the first Western leader to meet with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva since his inauguration.
European wants to re-set relations with South America's largest country following the exit of the divisive far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The resilience of democracy is likely to be high on the agenda for talks given the storming of government buildings earlier this month by Bolsonaro supporters.
Still, differences can once more be expected.
Last year, Lula said Russia never should have invaded Ukraine, but added Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was as much to blame for the war as Russian leader Vladimir Putin. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Klingelnberg AG ( VTX:KLIN ), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in…
Dave's Hot Chicken Co-Founder Arman Oganesyan said his pop-up tent turned national food chain is focused entirely on its food and its customers, allowing it to stand out among its mega competitors.
Givaudan SA ( VTX:GIVN ) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 29th of March to…
Every investor in Bertrandt Aktiengesellschaft ( ETR:BDT ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups…
Signify N.V. ( AMS:LIGHT ) will increase its dividend on the 5th of June to €1.50, which is 3.4% higher than last…
With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 16.9x My E.G. Services Berhad ( KLSE:MYEG ) may be sending bearish signals…
TOKYO/PARIS (Reuters) -Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA agreed on Monday to a sweeping revamp of their two-decade-old automaking alliance that will put them on equal footing and see the Japanese company invest in Renault's new electric vehicle business. The announcement came after nearly four months of intense talks that sources told Reuters were complicated by concerns about the sharing of intellectual property as Renault sought to build a number of new tie-ups with companies outside their alliance. Under the deal, which is still subject to board approvals, Renault will reduce its stake in Nissan to 15% from around 43%, transferring around 28% of the Japanese automaker to a French trust, Renault said.
SAP ( ETR:SAP ) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: €30.9b (up 11% from FY 2021). Net income: €2.29b…
A man lit a molotov cocktail and threw it at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey, around 3:19 a.m. on Sunday morning, according to police.
Hainan province, a popular tourist destination in South China, published a notice on Sunday vowing to step up oversight on non-fungible tokens, or “digital collectibles,” which authorities said come with risks of fraud, money laundering and illegal fundraising.
Four senior officials in U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration called for Congress to “step up its efforts” in regulating the cryptocurrency market.
(Bloomberg) — Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast.Most Read from BloombergAdani Tries to Calm Investors With 413-Page Hindenburg RebuttalRussia Can’t Replace the Energy Market Putin BrokeFed Set to Shrink Rate Hikes Again as Inflation SlowsBed Bath & Beyond Customers Confront Empty Shelves Ahead of Looming BankruptcyUkraine Latest: Russian Missile Hit on Kharkiv Building ReportedFederal Reserve officials are set to shift down the pace
These two recession-forecasting tools haven't been wrong for more than a half-century. Here's what they say happens next.
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis said the West sending tanks to Ukraine to provide additional aid in its war with Russia “creates real problems” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is trying to scare the West with the Kremlin’s comments that NATO countries’ move to send tanks to Ukraine increases their “direct involvement”…
How is social security taxed in 2023? Here are the rules used to calculate how much you might owe on your benefits.
Japan and the Netherlands have agreed to a deal with the U.S. to restrict China's access to materials used to make advanced computer chips, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Ukraine expects to receive 24 modern fighter jets from partner nations, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said in a comment to Spanish daily newspaper El País on Jan. 28.
More than 30 years ago, some relatively youthful central bank and Treasury economists in New Zealand were grappling with how to bring two decades of double-digit inflation under control in an economy less than 1% the size of its U.S. counterpart. "It was a bit of a shock to everyone, I think," said Roger Douglas, the Labour Party finance minister at the time who worked with the Treasury and Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to pioneer the policy. Like that, inflation targeting was born.
Russia is likely preparing to conduct “a decisive strategic action” in Luhansk Oblast or in the area of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast in the next six months, in order to regain the initiative in its full-scale war against Ukraine, the U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a recent assessment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Jan. 27.
Republicans are dim, too, if they don't rein in Trump, whose "animus is almost pathological," warns Bloomberg's Robert A. George.