Ukraine–Venezuela relations

Ukrainian–Venezuelan relations are bilateral diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Venezuela, which were established on 9 January 1992 with the recognition of Ukraine's independence by Venezuela.

Bilateral relations
Ukraine–Venezuela relations
Map indicating locations of Venezuela and Ukraine

Venezuela
Ukraine

History

1990s

On 9 January 1992, Venezuela recognized Ukraine's independence.[citation needed]

In April 1999, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk paid his first official visit to Venezuela. There, he said that Latin America is not a "terra incognita" for Ukrainian foreign policy. Tarasyuk argued that the region is an important market for Ukrainian products and that Ukraine should actively develop contacts with Latin American countries.[1]

2010s

In September 2010, the Venezuelan vice foreign minister Temir Porras Ponceleon visited Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr Horin and they discussed a "wide range of issues of Ukrainian-Venezuelan cooperation in political, trade and economic and humanitarian spheres".[2]

In October 2010, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez met with then-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in Kyiv. The Ukrainian head of state said that "a lot of time has been lost between our two countries" and further noted that the world "can expect a deepening of cooperation" between both of the countries.[3][4] Chávez visited the Antonov plant in Kyiv and agreed with Yanukovych on establishing embassies of each country in the other country. Both head of states signed agreements regarding the Odesa–Brody pipeline.[5]

As agreed during the Kyiv visit, the Ukrainian Foreign minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko paid an official visit to Venezuela in December 2010. The delegation included representatives of ministries, governmental agencies and leading companies of Ukraine, interested in development of cooperation with Venezuela.[6]

On 7 March 2014, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry released a statement which said President Nicolás Maduro "condemns the coup perpetrated by extremist groups in Ukraine following an attrition strategy promoted from abroad by the government of the United States and its NATO allies." It further stated, "the installation in Kyiv of de facto authorities not only threatens Ukraine's national unity, but the stability of the entire region as it places in danger Ukrainian citizens of Russian origin and the Russian Federation's own sovereignty."[7][8] Venezuela did not recognize the secession and subsequent accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, Venezuela was one of the eleven countries that voted against the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262, approved on 27 March, recognized Crimea as part of Ukraine and rejected the referendum on the political status.[9][10] Although Venezuela did later recognize the annexation. In late 2014, Oleg Tsaryov, then the speaker of the Parliament of Novorossiya (a confederation that included the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic), appealed to Venezuela to recognize the independence of the two separatist republics.[11]

Ukraine rejected the results of the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election, where Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner.[citation needed]

In 2019, during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Ukraine recognized Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela.[12]

2020s

In early 2022, the Venezuelan government blamed NATO and the United States for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating that they had violated the Minsk agreements. Nicolás Maduro said before the invasion was launched that Venezuela was with Putin, but also urged a diplomatic dialogue to avoid escalating the conflict.[13][14] José David Chaparro, who served as Venezuela's chargé d'affaires in Moscow between 2001 and 2005 and settled in Kyiv in the early 90s, enlisted in Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces in the second day of the invasion along with this wife and became the commander of a division of Ukrainian volunteers. Chaparro's unit has helped donating food, water, commodities and fuel to civilians affected by Russian bombings.[15][16]

Trade

Currently, trade relations between both countries are minimal. In 2020, Ukraine exported goods worth 4.68 million US dollars to Venezuela, mostly seed oils, wheat flours and petroleum. The same year, Venezuela exported goods worth 541,000 $ to Ukraine, mostly processed crustaceans, hard liquor and electric furnaces.[17]

Diplomatic missions

Both countries have no embassies in the respective other country.

References

  1. ^ Ukrainian Foreign Minister in South America, rferl.org 27 April 1999.
  2. ^ Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Mr. Oleksandr Horin received Deputy Foreign Minister of Venezuela Temer Porras Ponceleón, mfa.gov.ua 15 September 2010.
  3. ^ Update: Yanukovych greets Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Kyiv, kyivpost.com 18 October 2010.
  4. ^ Jan Ullrich: Venezuela stößt nach Eurasien vor, amerika21.de 19 October 2010.
  5. ^ Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to vist Kyiv Oct. 18, kyivpost.com 14 October 2010.
  6. ^ The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Kostyantýn Grýshchenko paid an official visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, mfa.gov.ua 21 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Gobierno venezolano repudia el "golpe de Estado de extremistas" en Ucrania". EL UNIVERSAL. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Putin on Ukraine Okay With China-Syria-Venezuela Minority". Bloomberg News. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  9. ^ "U.N. General Assembly Affirms Ukraine's Territorial Integrity, Calls The World Community Not To Recognise Change Of Crimea's Status". Ukrainian News Agency. March 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  10. ^ "La Asamblea General aprobó una resolución sobre la integridad territorial de Ucrania" (in Spanish). United Nations. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  11. ^ David X. Noack: Ostukrainische "Volksrepubliken" suchen Anerkennung in Lateinamerika, amerika21.de 17 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Мільйони венесуельців сказали "ні" Мадуро – Порошенко" (in Ukrainian). Fakty. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  13. ^ Sequera, Vivian (25 February 2022). "Venezuela blames U.S., NATO for Ukraine conflict". Swissinfo. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Gobierno de Maduro emite comunicado y evita condenar invasión a Ucrania" [Maduro's government issues a statement and avoids condemning the invasion of Ukraine]. El Pitazo (in Spanish). 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Un venezolano se unió a la resistencia ucraniana para defender Kiev" [A Venezuelan joined the Ukrainian resistance to defend kyiv]. El Diario (in Spanish). 14 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  16. ^ "José David Chaparro, es el 'comandante' venezolano de una pequeña división de voluntarios en Ucrania (Fotos y Video)". AlbertoNews (in Spanish). 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  17. ^ Ukraine / Venezuela, oec.world (without date).
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