"Resisting through strengthening strategic cooperation with Russia"

Nicaragua intends to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia, China and Iran to counter sanctions pressure, Laureano Ortega, the President's special representative for the development of relations with the Russian Federation, said in an interview with Izvestia at the SPIEF. According to him, the United States is engaged in commercial terrorism against the whole world because of trade wars and attempts to seize control of the Panama Canal. Against this background, Managua is also working on an alternative transportation artery project, which will involve companies not only from China, but also from around the world. The Latin American country also wants to increase the flow of Russian tourists and is considering joint destinations between Russia, Cuba and Nicaragua, as well as launching direct flights. About the Ukrainian crisis, US imperialism and Russian classics — in an exclusive interview with Laureano Ortega to Izvestia.

"We are suffering from pressure from the United States simply because we are free nations"

— Relations between Russia and Nicaragua continue to develop. However, the West is putting pressure on countries that choose to cooperate with the Russian Federation. Has Nicaragua experienced similar pressure?

— Of course, we feel the pressure. Historically, we have suffered from this pressure from the United States and its European allies, not only because of cooperation with Russia, but simply because we are free peoples. So, in fact, according to the imperialist ideology, we should work for them, not work with them. That's why we have been under this pressure for many years. Nicaragua, Venezuela, and especially Cuba, because of the blockade, are three countries that are under the control of the United States and Europe. With these so—called sanctions — we call them illegal, of course, because they are - they have become even more aggressive towards Russia and China over the past ten years.

— Sanctions and unilateral restrictions have long been a common tool of Western foreign policy. How should the international community respond to this?

— We must respond with force, but we must respond wisely, cooperating with friendly countries. We must find alternative ways and show that we are not afraid and will not give up. This is important because in the eyes of a bully, when you show strength, it really has an effect. Therefore, we need to continue to strengthen BRICS, the SCO, and CELAC as a whole and demand decisive action for a new foundation of the United Nations, a more vibrant voice in relation to what is happening in the world. For example, we have condemned the genocide against the Palestinian people. We have condemned these illegal attacks on Iran by Israel. We need to act decisively.

"We should probably be grateful that they didn't use a small stick instead of a big one."

— Against the background of restrictions, the US trade wars are further complicating the situation. How does Washington's policy affect Nicaragua and other countries?

— Now this new trade war has broken out, which the United States has imposed on the world, even against its European allies, but especially against China. Because they understand that China is a ray of hope for the peoples of the world who want to improve, develop, and have mutually beneficial cooperation. Because that's exactly what China has been doing, for example, with respect to Nicaragua for the past four years. We developed our cooperation very quickly and efficiently.: This applies to infrastructure projects, energy, healthcare, public transport, and industry.

And we have investments from China, a free trade agreement. And the United States and Europe see in all this a model of cooperation that does not correspond to their imperialist view of the world. That is why we are still subject to these illegal sanctions — all our peoples in Latin America, Russia, China, that is, countries that want to be truly free and sovereign.

But the United States was also opposed to Latin America and Central America. They threatened tariffs, which rose to almost 20% for Nicaragua, and for some other countries increased to more than 40%.

But in the end, what happened? They fell silent and said: "Okay, we won't do that, we'll raise 10% for everyone." So, apparently, we should be grateful that they didn't use a small "stick" instead of a big one. We have to be very, very careful not to fall into these traps. But we resist. We are resisting through strengthening strategic cooperation with Russia, China, Iran, and with friends and partners.

"We believe in Russia's final victory"

— The US position on unprecedented sanctions pressure has changed somewhat since Donald Trump returned to the White House. While the United States is now promoting peace between Russia and Ukraine, many European countries continue to insist on a continuation of the conflict. Why is there such a division of positions?

— I think we have to be very careful not to fall into the trap of ambivalence — when, as they say in the United States, they play the good cop and the bad cop. That is, saying one thing and doing another. Because the United States and Europe still continue to support this fascist regime in Ukraine.

And, of course, we support Russia in conducting a special military operation. We believe in the final victory of Russia, as it was 80 years ago against Hitler and fascism. But we have to be really vigilant in terms of how the United States operates, including the so-called deep state.

We have a special cooperation with the Russian Security Council. We have already participated in various meetings. We were, for example, at a meeting with Sergei Shoigu last month. And it is important to maintain these close ties, because we have plans to prevent color revolutions against our people. We need to be in touch and aware of the real threats.

"The only country in the world that can build the Panama Canal is Nicaragua."

— Nicaragua is interested in building a new shipping channel and has invited Russia and China to participate in the project. This is a very ambitious initiative that could be an alternative to the Panama Canal. What is the status of this project?

— There are two factors that play an important role here. More recently, we have seen the position of the American government openly stating that the Panama Canal should and does belong to the United States. And in fact, they want to put political pressure on the channel to block the passage of Russian and Chinese ships. This is a geopolitical factor, and the United States is actively involved, in fact, in commercial terrorism against the whole world. They will apply pressure to anyone who does not obey their mandates, as is already happening through sanctions and attempts to block banking links between Russia and China, Nicaragua and the rest of the world.

And there is a physical factor. The Panama Canal will not be able to meet such a high demand for ships. They are getting bigger and cannot pass through the channel. Moreover, the channel has already been expanded, but it can no longer be expanded.

So the Panama Canal has real physical challenges. And the only country in the world that can build a canal and make it actually feasible in terms of economic income and various geological aspects is Nicaragua.

This channel has been in the project for hundreds of years. After all, we had competition with Panama. Now it has acquired a special meaning. Our co-president, Commander Ortega, presented the new canal route last November during a meeting of the China-Nicaragua International Investment and Trade Council, which was held here. It was a big meeting. There were about 400 Chinese companies, and our president introduced this new route to them. We invite companies not only from China, but also from all over the world to take a look at the project, study it and work with us to make it global.

"We have something that Russians love"

— Nicaragua is an amazing country with a huge potential for tourism. How do you plan to attract Russian tourists? What unique experiences and opportunities does Nicaragua have to offer?

— I really believe that we have something that Russians love. We have beautiful beaches, volcanoes, lakes. We have excellent coffee, rum, cigars, beef. And as soon as a foreigner visits Nicaragua, he falls in love with our country. But we need to work on improving flights between Russia and Nicaragua.

We are trying to achieve this through the work of our joint commission. Yesterday we had a meeting with Veronika Skvortsova, co-chair from Russia in our joint commission. And we want to attract the interest of Russian airlines that can fly directly to Managua, so that more Russian tourists can come to Nicaragua and enjoy our country.

I also want to emphasize that Russians are more than welcome in our country. Russian Russians, we have seen this insane position of Europe and the United States, which are trying to abolish Russian culture, "abolish" Russians and block their entry. We want to say that Russians are the most welcome guests in Nicaragua. We love Russia, and we will always be with you.

— How do you assess the likelihood of the imminent launch of direct flights between Russia and Nicaragua?

— This is a challenge, because first we need to create an influx of Russian tourists. Therefore, we need to work on a promotion strategy with Russian travel agencies and the relevant Ministry of the Russian Federation.

I think we have an advantage in the fact that Russians often visit Cuba, and these may be combined destinations between Russia, Cuba and Nicaragua. Besides, we are friendly and fraternal countries. We can also work together to promote tourism.
"The USA and Europe have taken a crazy position, trying to abolish Russian culture"

— Russia and Nicaragua have established cooperation in such areas as defense and economics, but what about cultural exchange? Are there any joint cultural initiatives being implemented?

— We have a monument to Pushkin in the National Theater of Nicaragua. Now we have Tchaikovsky. And he's right next to our great poet Ruben Dario, after whom the theater is named. And we need to promote Russian culture more, because we love and appreciate its high relevance and importance, and what it has given to the world. Russians Russian artists, who have had their contracts cancelled in opera houses all over the world, the United States and Europe, I repeat, have taken a crazy position trying to cancel Russian culture. For example, Valery Gergiev, who was banned from performing in some opera houses. It's just crazy!

And in Nicaragua, we strive to promote cultural cooperation with Russia. Last month in Moscow, we had the honor to meet with the Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova. Russian Russian ballet, opera, theater, cinema, Russian photography, and the culture of Nicaragua were more represented in Russia. We signed agreements with the Ministry of Culture so that we could promote Russian ballet, opera, theater, cinema, and Russian photography more.

Therefore, I expect that the next few years will be quite intense in terms of cultural cooperation. And, as I said, we are proud to promote Russian culture in our country.