PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago has reiterated its position that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law and that Port of Spain continues to call for the use of all available diplomatic channels to end the violence against Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. By August 31 this year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) said it had recorded 36,357 civilian casualties in Ukraine and that the actual number could be higher.
According to an official statement on Monday, Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Dr. Amery Browne held separate discussions with the Russian Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Alexander S. Kurmaz, and Ukraine’s Sergiy Kyslytsya last week.
The Ministry of Foreign and CARICCOM Affairs statement said that the meeting focused on the ongoing war, with Browne emphasizing Trinidad and Tobago’s position that the invasion of Ukraine “is a violation of international law.”
Browne, in his discussions with the Russian diplomat, “underscored Trinidad and Tobago’s advocacy for peace, highlighting that this country leans on the side of multilateralism and, as such, hopes to see a swift diplomatic end to the hostilities.
“Additionally, Browne stressed that he remained very disturbed about the loss of human life on both sides of the conflict,” the statement said.
It noted that in his deliberations with the Ukraine diplomat, Browne touched on the efforts to achieve peace, particularly following the first Summit on Peace in Ukraine, which took place in Switzerland in June this year.
“During the exchange, Browne assured the Ambassador that Trinidad and Tobago maintained condemnation of the ongoing Russian aggression. Trinidad and Tobago, in keeping with its foreign policy, has consistently committed to the territorial integrity of sovereign states, has aligned itself on the side of peace, and continues to call for the use of all available diplomatic channels to end the violence against Ukraine.”
Browne also emphasized “that the horror and condemnation that witnesses to the war have felt was not only a Trinidad and Tobago view but a CARICOM one.
“He underlined that the Caribbean Community maintains the position that the ongoing hostility was a violation of territorial integrity and Heads of Government of CARICOM continue to lament on the loss of life,” the statement said.
Trinidad and Tobago established diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union on June 6, 1974, and maintained relations with the Russian Federation after the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
The Caribbean country has enjoyed diplomatic relations since September 29, 1999.
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