Local Argentine media reported on Tuesday that President Javier Milei is planning to visit Ukraine in June to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and express Argentina’s support for the country amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Milei’s planned trip to Ukraine will mark the first time a Latin American head of state visits the country after Russia’s February 2022 invasion since former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei’s visit to Kyiv in July 2022.
In Latin America, Moscow’s deep friendly ties with leftist authoritarian regimes in the region – most notably those of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua – has resulted in leftist politicians more likely to support the invasion, while conservative and/or right-wing political figures are more likely to take Ukraine’s side.
Sources from Argentina’s Casa Rosada (Pink House) presidential office told Todo Noticias that although the details of Milei’s itinerary are not yet confirmed, both countries are working to outline dates and details. The Argentine presidency is aiming for a June date despite the logistical complications inherent to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The encounter’s prospective June date was also confirmed to other local Argentine outlets such as El Cronista.
Shortly after his November 2023 electoral victory, Milei held a roughly 20-minute telephone conversation with Zelensky in which both heads of state reportedly agreed to organize an Argentine-hosted peace summit between Latin American countries and Ukraine sometime during 2024. Shortly after the conversation, Zelensky publicly thanked Milei for his support, noting that he had extended an invitation to the Argentine president to visit Ukraine.
Zelensky was among the international heads of state who participated in Milei’s December 10 inauguration ceremony.
Milei, prior to becoming elected president, fiercely condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. His administration reiterated its condemnation in a statement issued on February 24 to mark the second anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion, demanding Moscow “immediately cease” the use of force and stop its military operations on Ukrainian territory.
Upon taking office, Milei pledged to realign Argentina’s left-leaning international policy, bringing the South American nation closer to the United States and Israel, rather than authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia. Milei’s support for Ukraine heavily contrasts with the historical pro-Russia stance of the region’s socialist and/or communist-led countries, including prior leftist Argentine governments.
The Argentine outlet Infobae reported that Milei’s visit and support of Ukraine would come at a time when “public opinion in Europe and the United States begins to tire” of the ongoing war.
Infobae stated that Milei’s prospective visit to Ukraine is expected to be part of a broader international tour that will start on June 21 with a trip to Madrid, Spain, where Milei will receive an award issued by the Juan De Mariana think-tank for his “exemplary defense of the ideas of freedom,” followed by a meeting with Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Milei will then travel to Hamburg, Germany, to receive a medal from the Hayek Society during its annual ceremony on June 22. The Argentine president is also expected to have encounters with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Unlike his friendly relationship with Milei, Zelensky maintains a tense relationship with Brazil’s radical socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who unsuccessfully attempted to insert himself in Russia and Ukraine’s conflict as a mediator in 2023.
The difficult relationship between Lula and Zelensky began when the Brazilian president described Zelensky as a “nice comedian” during a 2022 interview, blaming him for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, both Lula and Zelensky have accused each other of canceling prospective meetings and otherwise showing disrespect on multiple occasions.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
