(CNN) — As Russia tends to move closer to the outcast status in many countries around the world, it seems that he can still count on the support of a small group of Western countries—Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela—and perhaps the growing backing of another Central American country.
The latest test of such support came at Wednesday’s emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Bolivia joined several dozen other countries in abstaining during a vote to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and demand that Moscow withdraw its troops “immediately, completely and unconditionally.”
While Venezuela was unable to formally vote in the session because it has not paid its dues to the UN for several years, it almost certainly would have voted against the resolution or abstained given the opportunity.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke on the phone with the Russian presidentVladimir Putin earlier this week and has said several times that Putin has his “full support.” After the phone call, Maduro tweeted an old photo of him and Putin shaking hands, and blamed the conflict on “destabilizing actions by NATO.”
I had a telephone conversation with the president, Vladimir Putin, I ratified Venezuela’s condemnation of the destabilizing actions of the #OTAN. I reiterated the firm disposition in favor of understanding and dialogue, as a way to preserve Peace. pic.twitter.com/nTJW5o3jL6
– Nicolas Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) March 1, 2022
Although the countries did not vote against the resolution, the abstention votes were notable. It meant that each country decided not to declare illegal and immoral an invasion that the vast majority of the rest of the world considers a flagrant violation of international norms and laws.
Cuba and Nicaragua are longtime allies of Russia, and the link between Cuba and Russia goes back decades. The Cuban government has blamed the current conflict on the United States and NATO’s “increasingly offensive military doctrine that threatens peace”.
Meanwhile, Nicaragua was one of the first countries in the world to rformally recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, two pro-Russian areas that Russia formally recognized shortly before invading Ukraine.
El Salvador’s abstention was also revealing, reflecting the country’s silence since the conflict began.
The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, was extremely vocal in the days leading up to the Russian invasion, mocking US claims that an invasion was imminent.
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” tweeted Bukele on February 18, in response to US President Joe Biden, who said he believed Russia would invade in the next few days.
Since Russia invaded, however, Bukele has kept quiet about it.
Meanwhile, Latin American heavyweights, including Mexico and Brazil, have come under fire from those who accuse the two countries of giving Russia a free pass.
Although the UN delegations of both countries voted in favor of condemning the Russian invasion and a military withdrawal, the president of Mexico, López Obrador, and the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, stopped short of criticizing Putin or imposing sanctions. .
“We are not going to take any economic retaliation because we want to maintain good relations with all the governments of the world”, Lopez Obrador said. “We do not consider that this corresponds to us and we think that the best thing is to promote dialogue to achieve peace”
Bolsonaro, who visited Moscow a few weeks agohas said that his country “was not going to take sides”.
“We will remain neutral and help where possible to find a solution,” said the president who is currently running for re-election later this year.