Moscow [Russia], June 9 (ANI/Sputnik): The decree on the temporary presence of foreign military personnel in Nicaragua is routine, it allows the temporary admission of the armed forces of a number of countries, including Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.
On Wednesday, Nicaragua allowed the temporary presence of a foreign military in the country. The list of countries whose military are allowed on Nicaraguan territory includes Russia.
“I would like to immediately reassure the ‘hot heads’: we are talking about the routine — twice a year — procedure for the adoption of a Nicaraguan law on the temporary admission of foreign military personnel to its territory in order to develop cooperation in various areas, including humanitarian and emergency response, combating organized crime and drug trafficking,” Zakharova said, answering whether Moscow would use this opportunity and deploy its military there in the near future.
“This law allows the presence in the country of representatives of the armed forces of a number of states, including Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Russia, El Salvador and the United States,” she added.
According to Zakharova, the presence of such an act in legislative practice is not an exceptional phenomenon.
“We should not forget that we are talking about a country that has experienced more than a dozen armed interventions in its 200-year history. This applies not only to Nicaragua but also to other states of the region, where similar laws also apply,” the diplomat explained.
Speaking about Russia in this context, she noted that the Russian side traditionally developed equal and mutually respectful cooperation with its Nicaraguan partners on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. According to Zakharova, “this also applies to such areas as cooperation in the field of defence, the fight against new challenges and threats.”
“We work here openly and transparently, on the basis of existing bilateral documents, in particular, the 2001 intergovernmental agreements on military-technical cooperation, on cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking in and use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances of 2004, and on cooperation in the field of advanced training of personnel in this area in 2013,” the spokeswoman recalled.
In the course of interaction, which is not directed against third countries, the countries pay special attention to the principles of regional security, she said.
“Latin America is a continent of peace and stability, and it is not in our interests to disturb this stability and the balance of power that has developed there,” she added.
“So there is no sensation in the messages you are interested in,” Zakharova concluded. (ANI/Sputnik)
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