Gerardo Werthein justified Argentina's abstention at the UN on Ukraine: "Milei favored the possibility of peace"

Argentina 's decision to abstain from the UN vote urging Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine , on the third anniversary of the start of the invasion, sparked controversy at the national level and Gerardo Werthein explained the position. The stance contrasted with the alignment that President Javier Milei had previously expressed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with the defense of his territory.

In response to criticism, the foreign minister explained the reasons behind the abstention in an interview with LN+ . "Already at the G20 in South Africa, before this resolution was on the table, Argentina stated that we advocate a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to end the war in Ukraine," he said.

He also said that the position adopted by the Government does not imply a change of opinion on the conflict: "When the United States presented this, Milei said that this is a unique opportunity to support a peace process. Hundreds of thousands of people died here and the President privileged that there is a glimmer of hope for peace."

Werthein stressed that the resolution promoted by the United States sought to end the conflict , without assigning direct responsibility. "There was no change of opinion. The United States resolution says that it calls for an end to this war in which many people died. There are no adjectives and no assignment of responsibility," he explained.

He also criticised the position of the European Union , which also presented a project to the UN, but with a different approach: «Europe had a resolution with a lot of rhetoric from the past but without any proposal to resolve. Argentina will always be on the side that can participate in a peace process. When there are so many deaths and an opportunity to stop it, it must be done. The rest is discussed later.»

The foreign minister also stressed that, beyond the abstention in this vote, the Argentine government shares the vision of the United States on the future of Ukraine. "We must also consider that it is very important for Ukraine to recover its institutions, with elections, but first peace is needed. In this, Argentina shares the idea of ​​the United States," he said.

The government thus defended its decision at the UN, arguing that its priority is to promote a peace process rather than continue the diplomatic confrontation between the powers.