Africa-Press – Mozambique. The first deputy speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Oleksandr Korniyenko, is this week visiting Maputo to ask for Mozambique’s support in the war against Russia, on which the African country Mozambique has so far taken a neutral stance.
“Unfortunately, two days ago, once again, Mozambique did not join” the countries that condemned Russia at the General Assembly of the United Nations, Korniyenko noted in a written response to questions posed by Lusa.
“We have noted Mozambique’s consistent position” of “not voting against resolutions on Ukraine” since 2014, abstaining or not participating in votes, he said, adding that now he is asking directly for votes in support of the country.
“During all my meetings in Maputo, I will call on my interlocutors to support Ukrainian initiatives aimed at countering Russian aggression, at the United Nations, in its Security Council, as well as in other international organisations,” he said. “We will continue to need the maximum possible assistance from partners.”
These include those “from the African region and especially from Mozambique, which has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2023-2024,” he stressed.
The programe of Korniyenko’s visit to Maputo has not been made public.
The visit comes after Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, last week began a tour of African countries that was on Monday interrupted due to the intensifying war back home.
In his written replies to Lusa, Korniyenko noted that an “important role in the development of relations between Ukraine and African countries belongs to inter-parliamentary relations.”
“That is why I am here,” he stressed. “We have a lot to talk about with Mozambique.”
He noted that bilateral relations dates back many years old, with Ukraine supporting Mozambique in the past.
“In particular, during the civil war, Ukraine [then part of the Soviet Union] provided assistance to Mozambique, when many of its soldiers were educated in Ukrainian universities or trained under the leadership of instructors” from that country, he recalled.
Current ties with Mozambique go well beyond the 50 or so Ukraine nationals living in the country today, he added.
“There is a bank director and a university professor among Ukrainians in Mozambique [but] there are also Ukrainians of spirit, that is, Mozambicans who once graduated from universities” in Ukraine and today “work in the government and represent the ruling party.”
Mozambique was among the countries that have abstained on the three resolutions that have gone to a vote in the UN General Assembly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
The first resolution condemned Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine due to the war, another served to suspend Moscow from the UN Human Rights Council and the third, which went to a vote on Wednesday, condemned Russia’s recent annexation of Ukrainian territories, reinforcing Moscow’s isolation on the international scene.
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