Mexico’s President López Obrador declines to impose economic sanctions on Russia

Mexico will not impose any economic sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday.

He also criticized what he called censorship of Russian state-sponsored media by social media companies.

“We are not going to take any sort of economic reprisal because we want to have good relations with all the governments in the world,” López Obrador told a news conference.

López Obrador’s position stands in contrast to the international sanctions imposed on Russia for President Vladimir Putin’s actions.

Russia has built strong links to various governments in Latin America, especially authoritarian administrations in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, but its ties with Mexico are seen to be limited due to the strong U.S.-Mexico relations.

The Mexican and U.S. economies are deeply intertwined. But leftist leader López Obrador has at times had testy relations with the United States and has criticized U.S. foreign policy.

López Obrador’s comments came in response to a question about the interest in Mexico of Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil and Russian airline Aeroflot.

Lukoil said on Friday it has completed its acquisition of a 50 percent operator interest in an offshore oil project in Mexico, part of its drive to expand its global reach. 

The Mexican president also criticized what he characterized as the censorship of Russian state media.

“I don’t agree with the fact that media from Russia or any country is censored,” López Obrador said.

Alphabet Inc’s Google barred Russia’s state-owned media outlet RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion of Ukraine. 

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