President Duque reacted to Russia's criticism at the UN: “How do those who sow war and desolation talk about peace?”

The Colombian president came up with the very tough questions about the peace agreement made by the representative of Vladimir Putin to the United Nations Security Council

En la imagen, el presidente de Colombia, Iván Duque. EFE/Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda/Archivo

After the vehement questions posed by the Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, to Colombian President Iván Duque, he decided to spoke about it, defended progress in the implementation of the peace agreement during his administration and condemned, again, the invasion of the government of Vladimir Putin into Ukraine.

“All the comments made here seek to be constructive, but there are also comments that have been made that it is good to put them in the perspective of congruence, but also of moral authority,” said the Colombian head of state, in turn questioning the Russian nation, which has caused crimes against humanity against the Ukrainian people for more than a month.

Before concluding his response to the Russian diplomat, who is President Putin's man of confidence, the first Colombian president called on the international community to raise its voice against the aggression that the Ukrainian people have been experiencing for almost two months.

“It is very important that here, in this Security Council, in this governing body of this United Nations system that was created for humanity to resolve its conflicts on the understanding of multilateral dialogue, there is no talk of peace by those who are today sowing war and desolation,” the president added.

Duque's criticism came after he had to ask for the floor to defend himself against the questions that Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya expressed during the UN event. This is after the president assured that since he came to power in 2018 he has worked hard to ensure that what was agreed between the government of his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos and the former FARC guerrilla group is fulfilled.

However, such self-praise did not go well with the Russian diplomat, who not only called the Colombian Government “unproductive”, but questioned the work that has been done in the area of transitional justice.

“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.

He added: “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.

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