"Nicaragua has no contact with Ukraine, we are always with Russia"

Nicaragua does not support dialog with Kiev even on humanitarian issues, the country's special presidential envoy for the development of relations with Russia, Laureano Ortega, said in an interview with Izvestia. He arrived in Moscow to participate in the sixth meeting of the intergovernmental commission, as well as to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the states. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Daniel Ortega maintain close contact and constantly exchange letters and phone calls, however, the dates of the next meetings have not been disclosed yet. On joint projects between Moscow and Managua, tourism development, as well as cooperation within the EAEU and BRICS - in an exclusive interview with Laureano Ortega "Izvestia".

"We will continue cooperation in the military-technical plan"

- On December 11, the sixth meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua took place. Did they manage to reach any concrete agreements?

- We talked about projects in health care and pharmaceuticals. Among other things, we discussed projects that have already been launched within the framework of the Latin American Institute of Biotechnology "Mechnikov" in Nicaragua - the production of vaccines against influenza and other diseases, as well as the import of vaccines against COVID-19 "Convasel" from the Russian Federation.

We agreed to continue working on the nuclear medicine center, which is a joint project with Rosatom. We have been working on it for more than a year. We have decided on the place where this project will be realized, developed its structural design, and also advanced the issue of financing its construction as early as next year.

We have also come to a decision to strengthen trade and investment. We want Russian products to be able to enter the Nicaraguan market and use Nicaragua as a platform for further exports to other Central American countries. And our products could be sold in Russia and from there already supplied to other EAEU countries. We are also working on obtaining the status of an observer country in this organization.

We also discussed tourism with our Russian colleagues. We are interested in working to possibly launch direct flights between Russia and Nicaragua in the future.

We also talked about cyber security. In addition, we discussed the construction of a port, airport, bridges and highways within the framework of the Nicaraguan Canal project (it is supposed to replace the Panama Canal - Izvestia), in the construction of which Russian companies may participate.

They also discussed cooperation in the field of culture and establishment of partnership between the mass media of our countries.

- In early December, the Russian cabinet approved a draft intergovernmental agreement with Nicaragua on military cooperation. Did you manage to discuss the details of this project with your Russian colleagues? What will this cooperation entail? When could this agreement be signed?

- Military-technical cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua has a long history and has always been very important for our country. We are deeply grateful to Russia for its solidarity with Nicaragua at different stages of the Sandinista Revolution. There is an important military training and education program between our countries. We monitor its implementation within the commission, but there are also separate departments that deal directly with this topic.

- In this context, would Nicaragua be ready to host a Russian military base on its territory?

- As I said, we are working to strengthen our strategic relations with the Russian Federation and we will continue this cooperation in military-technical terms.

"We can start issuing Mir cards in Nicaragua".

- Earlier in the capital of your country, Managua, it became possible to withdraw money from cards of the Russian payment system Mir, but as far as I understand, this option is still available only in one ATM. When should we expect this option to be expanded? And when can it become possible to pay with Russian cards through bank terminals?

- This is one of the topics we are working on within the framework of the bilateral intergovernmental commission. We hope to move forward during 2025 to create a whole network of this kind of ATMs in the capital Managua, as well as in other important cities in our country, to simplify the situation for Russian citizens.

In the future, we can also start issuing Mir cards in Nicaragua. This is extremely important, as it will help to simplify trade relations and increase the exchange of goods.

In this way, we will also oppose sanctions, which in fact represent unilateral aggression by the US and its European allies, hitting countries that do not want to obey their mandate. We need to find channels for direct banking communication that have nothing to do with Western imperial domination.

- Given the frequency of contacts between Russian and Nicaraguan politicians, is the possibility of meetings at the level of presidents in 2025 being worked out?

- Communication at the highest level is always present. Presidents constantly exchange letters and calls, not all of them public. Russian President Putin, Nicaraguan President Ortega, and Vice President Rosario Murillo are in close contact.

My country is closely following the work that the Russian leader is doing, the great effort that Russia is making to create a new world order that is more just and democratic - a world in which all can cooperate on respectful and equal terms.

Nicaragua attended the historic BRICS meeting in Kazan, and our foreign minister was there. Managua asked to become a partner country of the association. We know that there is a certain mechanism for joining BRICS and we support the efforts of the association led by Russia and China.

- It is known that some Middle Eastern countries (Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia) mediate between Russia and Ukraine on humanitarian issues - they help in the exchange of prisoners of war and family reunification. Does Nicaragua provide any assistance in this regard or would be ready to take part in this? Does Nicaragua maintain contact with Ukraine in humanitarian aspects?

- We continue to express our strong solidarity with the Russian Federation, we accompany Russia in the great battle against fascism that it is waging in Ukraine, financed by the United States and its NATO allies. We are convinced of Russia's victory; it will be a victory for world peace. Nicaragua has no contact with Ukraine, we are always with Russia.