BUENOS AIRES, December 20. /TASS/. Argentina’s authorities are still ready for dialogue with Moscow and are determined to continue working according to previously reached agreements, though they put the new initiatives on pause, Russian Ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov said.
According to him, the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez after Argentina’s victory in the FIFA World Cup Final can be seen as another confirmation of this ongoing communication. "This telephone conversation proves that despite the geopolitical tensions we are ready to talk, we are ready to listen and hear each other out, and that is very important. This sort of opportunity as far as Western countries are concerned no longer exists. We can talk, but they are not ready to listen to us. [However,] with Argentina this opportunity is still there," he told reporters on Monday.
The envoy believes that despite the situation around Ukraine, relations between Argentina and Russia "have withstood the test of time". Buenos Aires condemned Russia’s special military operation, but has not joined the sanctions onslaught against Moscow. "[Our Argentinian] partners have not run from us, nor have they hid. There was never a time when someone didn't pick up the phone. We had meetings with different ministers and with the Central Bank. We communicate with the [Argentinian] Foreign Ministry in real time on the same level as before," the diplomat stressed.
At the same time, Feoktistov noted that work on new joint projects has been suspended by the Argentinian side. "As for specific political agreements, the Argentinians confessed that they would prefer to take a break for the time being. They said that at the moment it was not the best time for new initiatives. They [also] reiterated that the work on the issues, which had already been agreed upon, would continue," he pointed out.
Due to the situation around Ukraine, a plan for events in the cultural and humanitarian sphere was also reconsidered. "The tour of the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Theatres was suspended indefinitely <…>. Many events that we held in the city would now take place online, including our great "Mother Russia" festival, the envoy revealed. That being said, the local authorities did not interfere with Immortal Regiment marches.
"I would list the one-year extension of RT's Spanish broadcasting license in October as one of our achievements. We are grateful to the Argentinians that despite the pressure that was clearly put on them by the Western establishment to stop our channel here, as has happened in many countries, they rose to the challenge, which again confirms [their] independent approach," Feoktistov said.