Ukrainian Parliament Adopts Resolution on Sanctions against Nicaragua

Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved sectoral sanctions against the economy of Nicaragua due to the opening of the “first foreign consulate” in the Russian-occupied Crimea.

A total of 322 MPs voted for this decision.

The decision to impose sanctions was adopted by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine on 1 February. President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted it by his decree on the same day, and now the Verkhovna Rada has agreed on restrictive measures.

As a reminder, in late August last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent a note of protest to the Nicaraguan government over the illegal opening of an “honorary consulate” in the Russian-occupied Crimea with a residence in Simferopol. Oleg Beloventsev, who was convicted in Ukraine for attempted annexation, was appointed as “honorary consul.” According to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, the Ministry views such illegal actions by Nicaragua as a violation of Ukrainian legislation and international law and as “an openly unfriendly step towards Ukraine indulging the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.”

Bohdan Marusyak