KYIV: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky (pix) was travelling to the inauguration of Argentina’s president-elect Javier Milei, Kyiv said Saturday.
The Ukrainian presidency said Zelensky was “on the way to Argentina to attend the inauguration of newly-elected President Javier Milei” due to take place Sunday.
A political outsider, Milei promised to uproot Argentina’s political establishment and stormed the elections end-November.
Zelensky congratulated him, and both leaders spoke on the phone soon after Milei’s election.
Zelensky then thanked Milei for his “clear support for Ukraine”.
“This is well-noticed and appreciated by Ukrainians,“ Zelensky said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Milei’s office published a statement after the call saying he had “offered that Argentina could be the host of a summit between Ukraine and Latin America.”
Russia’s ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov is set to attend the ceremony, Russian state-run news agencies reported.
The Kremlin had “noted a number of statements that Javier Milei made during the electoral campaign”, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“But we will focus on and judge him mainly by the statements that he makes after the inauguration,“ Peskov added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Milei for his victory, according to a Kremlin statement.
A number of other foreign leaders are set to attend the inauguration.
Spain’s King Felipe VI, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Paraguay’s Santiago Pena, Uruguay’s Luis Lacalle Pou and Chile’s Gabriel Boric are scheduled to attend. –AFP
