President of the Russian Duma thanks Daniel Ortega for support

(CNN Spanish) — The Speaker of the Duma (Lower House) of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodinthanked the support of the Government of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, who aligned himself with his counterpart Vladimir Putin in the conflict with Ukraine.

“Our citizens thank the Nicaraguan people for supporting us and for supporting Crimea’s return to Russia, and also for recognizing South Ossetia’s independence. We thank Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who was one of the first to declare the importance of recognizing the independence of the popular regions of Donetsk and Luhansk to guarantee the security of the people,” Volodin said at a special session of the Nicaraguan National Assembly held this Thursday.

The leader of the Duma assured that “8 years ago there was a coup in Ukraine” and according to him, “oligarchs and ultra-nationalists came to power”, while he considered that the United States filled the country with weapons. According to his comments, the population of Donbas was demanding for their rights and the incursion approved by the Russian president seeks pacification in the area.

“The decision of our president Vladimir Putin to carry out the peacekeeping operation is intended to prevent humanitarian catastrophe and prevent large-scale war,” Volodin said.

President Daniel Ortega expressed his support for the Russian president on Monday, after recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, both located in eastern Ukraine.

The US Assistant Deputy Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Emily Mendrala, expressed this Wednesday during a virtual conference with independent media that it is “very worrying” that the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, have aligned themselves with Russia.

In Managua, Volodin will hold meetings with representatives of Parliament and the Minister of Finance, in order to deepen cooperation relations between the countries.