Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday defended the presence of a Russian military unit in a weekend parade marking Mexico’s independence day, following sharp criticism his country had given a platform to forces that invaded Ukraine.
“We have relations with all countries in the world and we invite everyone,” Lopez Obrador said at a regular government press conference after noting that the presence of the Russian unit had sparked a “scandal.”
Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has sought to keep Mexico neutral in the war between Russia and Ukraine, at one point proposing peace talks.
Nonetheless, his government has backed some major U.N. resolutions criticizing Russia’s role in the conflict.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Mexico, Oksana Dramaretska, said on X that the parade had been “sullied” by the participation of a Russian unit which she said was “stained with blood.”
“How coherent is it Mr. Lopez Obrador with your policy of neutrality and condemnation of aggression against my country?,” Dramaretska wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Russia’s embassy in Mexico celebrated the 154th Preobrazhenskiy Regiment’s participation in the event.
