Your Excellency, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
Esteemed Ministers and Heads of Delegations;
Delegates and guests;
I thank the authorities and the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a country to which we are united by historical bonds of friendship, for their warm hospitality.
We recognize the work of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at the helm of the Non-Aligned Movement during the triennium 2016-2019, which was a period of particular complexity.
The Non-Aligned Movement continues to be indispensable for political coordination among the countries of the South in an international context where the principles of International Law and the UN Charter are being disregarded. Predatory wars and the arms race are on the rise. Non-conventional wars, acts of aggression, unilateral sanctions, human rights manipulation and politicization and disrespect for the right to free determination of the peoples are intensifying.
The concentration of wealth among the most industrialized countries contrasts with the extreme poverty affecting 780 million persons. The irrational capitalist patterns are jeopardizing the ecological balance of the planet. The international order is ever more unjust and unsustainable.
The United States promotes instability in several regions. The recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan as part of the territory of that country; the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program; the military threat against Iran and the imposition of unjust sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are examples of the arbitrary actions that we are facing.
Washington does not cease in its efforts to interfere in the internal affairs of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and has publicly declared the validity of the Monroe Doctrine.
We reaffirm our full support to the legitimate government headed by Nicolás Maduro and the civic-military union of the Bolivarian and Chavista people.
The activation of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela violates the principles enshrined in the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
We ratify our unswerving solidarity with Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua.
We congratulate the people and government of Bolivia for the transparency of the electoral process they have just carried out. We likewise congratulate President Evo Morales over the preliminary results he has achieved, which corroborate the decisive people’s support to his government. We expect such results to be officially confirmed.
At the same time, we condemn a whole campaign of distortions, destabilization and violence is going on, orchestrated by opposition sectors and instigated by the United States, which is contrary to citizens’ peace and security in Bolivia.
The US government has increased its hostility against Cuba. The full implementation of the Helms-Burton Act, which is an extraterritorial political and legal instrument, not only violates the sovereignty of Cuba; it also violates the sovereignty of all States, International Law and the human rights of all Cubans.
We appreciate the traditional support of the Non-Aligned Movement and its member States to our just claim to put an end to the blockade, which is the main obstacle to our development.
We will never abandon the defense of multilateralism and the unity of the Movement. Our strength will multiply if we keep united. It is essential to preserve the consensus in decision-making, which does not necessarily mean unanimity, but rather a majority support by its members.
We remain committed to the principles of Bandung as well as the Principles and Purposes agreed at the Fourteenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Havana and reaffirm our support to the presidency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Thank you, very much.