Mexican president-elect rules out visit to Ukraine

Claudia Sheinbaum cited the peace-oriented principles of her nation’s foreign policy in explaining why she’d declined Kiev’s invitation

Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has informed journalists of her intention to pursue a policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs, adding that she won’t make a state visit to Ukraine.

Sheinbaum will replace the country’s outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, her close ally, on October 1. Her landslide election win in June set her up to become Mexico’s first-ever female president.

When asked by journalists about a potential visit to Kiev, she replied “I don’t think so, I say again, we act in accordance with the principles of foreign policy and the Constitution.”

“Our foreign policy is defined by the Constitution. It is very clear, dignified and peaceful. Searching for the peaceful resolution of conflicts is the cornerstone of our foreign policy. This is our policy, and it won’t change,” Sheinbaum added.

The comment comes a week after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky pledged to send a high-ranking state official to the inauguration of the new president. In an interview with the Mexican news outlet Excelsior, Zelensky expressed the hope that Sheinbaum would pay an official visit to Kiev.

The president-elect also reaffirmed Mexico’s commitment to maintaining diplomatic relations with all countries, except for Ecuador, following cessation of diplomatic relations with the South American state earlier this year in the wake of a “violation of sovereignty.” In April, Obrador suspended ties after the arrest of Ecuador’s former vice president in the country’s Mexican Embassy by Quito police, who stormed the diplomatic compound following a months-long standoff.

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“I will attend certain international events which we consider important, but we will not travel much - our responsibility lies here,” Sheinbaum concluded.

Mexico has taken a neutral stance regarding the Ukrainian conflict. The outgoing president is a critic of US military aid to Kiev and of the sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West. In August, the country’s authorities rejected a Ukrainian request to arrest Vladimir Putin if the Russian president were to land in the Latin American country this fall for the inauguration of its new head of state.

Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in connection with the Ukraine conflict. Mexico is one 124 nations which recognize the jurisdiction of the Hague-based institution.