A little group of ukrainians asked this Wednesday Panamanian government close access to the Panama Canal to Russian vesselsdespite the neutrality of the interoceanic route and the scarce transit of ships from that country.
“Please, close the passage to Russian warships as Turkey could do in the Bosphorus and (the Strait of the) Dardanelles or Switzerland, which was a neutral country, but is already imposing sanctions,” Lilia told AFP. Chernyak, a Ukrainian protester.
On Sunday Turkey announced its decision to veto access to the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles Strait for all military ships, while Switzerland decided to break its historical policy of neutrality to implement economic sanctions adopted by the European Union against Moscow.
Cherniak, a resident of Panama, was part of the group of protesters who gathered on the Panamanian capital’s seafront promenade to repudiate the Russian invasion of their country.
At the protest, which was attended by fifty people, Ukrainians and Russians gathered against the war. They signed a letter asking the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, sanctions against Russia.
“We urge the Panamanian people and you, as president, to consider the possibility of closing the passage to Russian commercial and military ships through the Panama Canal until the war stops and all the invading troops return to your country,” the letter says.
The petition comes despite the fact that the treaties signed by Panama with the United States, in 1977, for the recovery of the Canal, They establish the neutrality of the road in the face of any international conflict.
In addition, through this route, where 3.5% of world maritime trade transits, the Russian presence is symbolic.
According to official data, in the last fiscal year, the list of the 15 largest users of the Canal was led by the United States (72.5%), while the last position was occupied by Spain with 1.6% of the load. Russia does not appear in that list of the main users of the Panamanian route.