Amid the war in Ukraine and the West’s sanctions campaign against Russia, the United States is pushing Latin American countries into joining anti-Russia sanctions via threats, according to the Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said the US was expecting nations in Latin America to respect sanctions against Russian financial institutions and state-linked companies.

Antonov wrote on the Russian Embassy Telegram page that there seems to be growing irritation in the US Department of State over the position taken up by these nations in refusal to join the “sanctions ‘crusade’ against Russia”, and their independent vision of the Ukrainian crisis.

“The aim of such statements is clear: to intimidate its partners via secondary restrictions for non-compliance with the anti-Russian campaign,” the ambassador said.

The US, according to Antonov, isn’t concerned over the damage such sanctions might have on the development of Latin American nations, their food security and social stability.

Earlier this month, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro described the unilateral sanctions imposed on Russia as a crime against the Russian people, and “madness.”

“Look what they [West] are doing with Russia: this is a crime against the Russian people, an economic war. They [Russia] are excluded from the SWIFT system, the airspace for them is closed, all the trading ties are suspended, the access to US dollar is banned. This is madness what they [West] are doing with Russia,” Maduro said.

Source: Agencies (editted by Al-Manar English Website)