Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has backed Russia’s position on the Ukraine issue. Ortega was one of the first world leaders to support Russia’s position. The news agency Reuters reported this information.
On Monday, Ortega said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had done the right thing by recognizing the two territories of eastern Ukraine as independent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday recognized two pro-Russian separatist-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine as independent.
The two regions of eastern Ukraine are Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin has instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to establish diplomatic relations with the two “republics.”
Hours after Donetsk and Luhansk were recognized as “republics”, the Russian president ordered troops to be sent to the two regions. He has instructed Russian troops to serve as peacekeepers in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Reuters quoted eyewitnesses as saying that tanks and other military equipment had been seen entering Donetsk since Putin’s decree was issued.
The West, including the United States, has condemned Putin’s move. The United States is expected to impose new sanctions on Russia over the incident. The European Union is following the same path. In that context, Nicaraguan President Ortega backed Putin.
The former Marxist guerrilla said, “I am sure that if a referendum is held like Crimea, people will vote to annex those regions (Donetsk and Luhansk) to Russia.”
Ortega has long spoken out against US influence in Central America. He added that Ukraine’s attempt to join the Western military alliance NATO is a threat to Russia.
Ortega said that if Ukraine became a member of NATO, they would go to war against Russia. This explains why Russia is acting on the Ukraine question. Russia is only defending itself.