Ukraine’s foreign minister promises to visit Mozambique for ‘honest conversation’

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Ukraine’s foreign minister promises to visit Mozambique for ‘honest conversation’

7:14 CAT | 14 Oct 2022

File photo: Lusa

The Ukrainian foreign minister promised on Thursday to visit Mozambique to have an “honest conversation” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as part of his tour of the continent to drum up support.

“My tour of African countries will continue, and Mozambique is among the countries we will visit to have a truly honest conversation,” Dmytro Kuleba said in response to a question posed by Lusa during a virtual meeting with several journalists from different African countries.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy did not give any dates for the visit but said that the intention was to ensure that Mozambique “understands” that Ukraine is facing a “clear invasion”.

“We want to ensure that we are understood, but that does not mean an immediate change in the position of an African country […] If we notice that the reaction is honest and the country will continue to reflect on its position, we will clearly open up to this relationship,” Dmytro Kuleba said.

The possible visit to Mozambique fits into the tour that Ukrainian diplomacy has been making across the African continent, calling for unanimous condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Now the whole world realises that this is not just a distant war, we all suffer from the repercussions of this invasion. If Russia theoretically wins in Ukraine, that will be a message to all the countries of the world that want to invade other territories,” he added.

Mozambique was among the countries that abstained on three resolutions that have been voted on in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The first resolution condemned Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine due to the war, another suspended Moscow from the Human Rights Council and the third, which went to a vote on Wednesday, condemned Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, reinforcing Moscow’s isolation on the international scene.

The Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the party in power since independence) was an ally of Moscow during the time of the former USSR, receiving military support during the struggle against Portuguese colonialism and economic aid after independence in 1975.

Source: Lusa