The far-right libertarian MP Javier Milei won Argentina's presidential election on Nov. 19 after a campaign in which he said he would seek to reduce ties to Russia and China, among other policy views that represented a break from the outgoing President Alberto Fernandez.
Although Fernandez condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he also said he would not send weapons to Ukraine and declined to join sanctions against Russia.
Milei gained international attention for his incendiary comments and radical views, such as legalizing the sale of human organs and completely removing all gun laws. He has been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
At the same time, Milei has expressed support for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He wore a Ukrainian flag pin in parliament in March 2022 and said, "Those of us who defend the ideas of freedom cannot tolerate or accept an invasion like Russia has done to Ukraine."
Milei also criticized the government of Argentina, characterizing its position towards the war as "weak" and saying that it is "complicit with the worst dictatorships in the land."
The U.S. State Department said on Nov. 7 that Russia is financing an extensive disinformation campaign to promote its interests in Latin America, including in Argentina.
Regarding Milei's election, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "We noted a number of statements that Mr. Milei made during the election campaign, but we will focus on and judge him mainly by the statements that he makes after the inauguration."
"We support the development of bilateral relations with Argentina," he added.
Anastasiia Lapatina
(Updated: )
