Current:Home > NewsMexican president defends inclusion of Russian military contingent in Independence parade-LoTradeCoin
Mexican president defends inclusion of Russian military contingent in Independence parade
View Date:2024-12-23 19:52:14
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president on Monday defended the participation of a contingent of Russian soldiers in a military parade over the weekend.
The presence of the Russian contingent in the Independence parade Saturday drew criticism because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mexico has condemned the invasion but has adopted a policy of neutrality and has refused to participate in sanctions as it continues to buy 2020-vintage COVID vaccines from Russia.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador noted that a contingent from China also participated, and said that all the countries Mexico has diplomatic relations with were invited.
López Obrador acknowledged the issue became “a scandal,” but attributed it to his ongoing spat with the news media, which he believes is against him.
“The Chinese were also in the parade, and there wasn’t so much outcry,” López Obrador said, noting a Russian contingent had participated in the past, although at times when that country was not actively invading its neighbor.
“All the countries that Mexico has diplomatic relations with were invited,” he said.
However, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Mexico, Oksana Dramaretska, wrote in her social media accounts that “The civic-military parade in Mexico City was stained by the participation of a Russian regiment; the boots and hands of these war criminals are stained with blood.”
Some members of López Obrador’s Morena party have publicly expressed affection for Russia even after the invasion, and López Obrador has frequently criticized the United States for sending arms to Ukraine.
López Obrador’s administration has continued to buy Russia’s Sputnik COVID vaccine and intends to use it as a booster shot later this year, along with Cuba’s Abdala vaccine.
Experts have questioned the use of those vaccines, along with Mexico’s own Patria vaccine, as a booster for new variants, because all of them were designed in 2020 to combat variants circulating at the time.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- See Leonardo DiCaprio's Transformation From '90s Heartthrob to Esteemed Oscar Winner
- Woman found guilty of throwing sons into Louisiana lake
- Here's where things stand just before the UAW and Big 3 automakers' contract deadline
- Ex-Jets QB Vinny Testaverde struck with 'bad memories' after watching Aaron Rodgers' injury
- John Krasinski is People's Sexiest Man Alive. What that says about us.
- Cambodia’s new Prime Minister Hun Manet heads to close ally China for his first official trip abroad
- Appeals court to quickly consider Trump’s presidential immunity claim in sex abuse case
- Chipotle brings back carne asada nationwide, adds Carne Asada Quesadilla to menu
- Ready-to-eat meat, poultry recalled over listeria risk: See list of affected products
- World Cup referee Yoshimi Yamashita among first women match officials at Asian Cup
Ranking
- Watch as massive amount of crabs scamper across Australian island: 'It's quite weird'
- Spain’s women’s soccer league players call off strike after reaching a deal for higher minimum wage
- University of North Carolina lifts lockdown after reports of armed person on campus
- Los Angeles Rams place rookie QB Stetson Bennett on non-football injury list
- Diddy's ex-bodyguard sues rape accuser for defamation over claims of 2001 assault
- Is grapeseed oil healthy? You might want to add it to your rotation.
- 3 people injured in India when a small jet veers off the runway while landing in heavy rain
- Is Kristin Cavallari Dating Singer Morgan Wallen? See Her Bashful Reaction
Recommendation
-
Whoopi Goldberg Shares Very Relatable Reason She's Remained on The View
-
New England has been roiled by wild weather including a likely tornado. Next up is Hurricane Lee
-
Dr. Becky, the Parenting Guru Blake Lively Relies On, Has Some Wisdom You Need to Hear
-
Social Security recipients will soon learn their COLA increase for 2024. Here's what analysts predict.
-
Human head washes ashore on Florida beach, police investigating: reports
-
New England has been roiled by wild weather including a likely tornado. Next up is Hurricane Lee
-
Maluma on dreaming big
-
F-35 fighter jets land in NATO-member Denmark to replace F-16s, some of which will go to Ukraine