Strong attack by Russia on Ivan Duque over the implementation of the peace agreement: “Colombia is not a normal country”

In the midst of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which coincides with the holding of the United Nations Security Council United (UN), the representative in that organization of Vladimir Putin's government, harshly criticized Colombian President Iván Duque for the implementation of the peace agreement with the FARC.

This is Vasili Nebenzia, who is the Russian nation's permanent ambassador to the UN and who was Putin's deputy foreign minister. The Russian official did not spare himself questions against the Government of Colombia and vehemently questioned the situation of violence facing the country.

“Here they will tell you nice words and difficult questions will also be avoided, however, in Russia we are telling the truth by our friends and therefore we are not going to hide it”, began saying Nebenzia, who is also Putin's man of trust, and did not miss an opportunity to question the Colombian president.

The criticism focused on the 'Peace with Legality' program that Duque has been carrying out since he came to power in 2018. Moreover, he even questioned whether the head of state used the term 'ex-combatant' to refer to the signatories of the peace agreement, which ended more than 50 years of armed conflict in Colombia.

“You have said ex-combatants, even the use of that term (peace with legality) shows that true national reconciliation in your country, unfortunately, has not yet been achieved,” said Nebenzia. Moreover, he even recalled the systematic murders of social leaders in the country and assured that the Government lacks a presence in the countryside.

“There is a gap in the state authorities in rural areas regarding the crop substitution program and agrarian reform,” the official added, while saying they have knowledge and arguments to support their impetuous claims.

And the criticism did not stop there, for Putin's official in Colombia there are “major failures” in the implementation of the final agreement with the extinct guerrillas, whose members left their arms and are now joining civilian life.

“It is precisely these issues that show that there are major failures in the country. There are still clashes to control drug trafficking and there is influence from criminal groups. And sometimes the participants in the process are shot,” said Nebenzia.

Before ending his tirade, the former minister assured that the almost four years that Iván Duque has been in power have been “unproductive” due to the crisis of violence that is plaguing Colombians in all regions.

The questions at the UN of Vladimir Putin's diplomat come after Duque broke off relations with the Eurasian country.

KEEP READING: