US Gears Up for Summit of Americas Next Week, But Still Unclear Who Will Attend
© Sputnik / Alexey Agaryshev
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Biden administration is preparing to host a high-profile Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles next week, but poor attendance, including a possible boycott by Mexico and other countries, threatens to undermine any progress that leaders might make at the international meeting.
All countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) ordinarily send representatives to every summit, which has taken place every three years since 1994. But Mexico and other countries have threatened a boycott this year because the Biden administration excluded Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the June 6-10 meeting.
Russian officials have also pointed out that the Ukraine conflict has driven a wedge between the countries that ordinarily attend the summit, since the Biden administration wanted to make the topic a focal point, but several Latin American countries maintain pro-Russian stances on the matter.
A Summit of Allies or 'Friends of America'?
The summit will be the first hosted by the US since the inaugural meeting in Miami in 1994. But with just hours remaining until the high-stakes event kicks off on Monday, it remains unclear who will attend, despite months of planning and preparation.
Attendees who have announced their participation include US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Both Canadian and Brazilian officials have announced plans to hold bilateral meetings with their counterparts on the sidelines of the summit.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador delivers a speech during the virtual Earth Day Summit, at the National Palace in Mexico City, on April 22, 2021
© AFP 2023 / PEDRO PARDO
Meanwhile, the US has ruled out sending invitations to its adversaries Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, saying it would exclude authoritarian governments and focus on the Western Hemisphere's democracies.
The restricted guest list prompted threats from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Argentina, Bolivia and some Caribbean countries to either boycott or send lower-level delegations.
The criticism was perhaps best expressed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who asked, “Is it going to be the Summit of the Americas or is it going to be the friends of America summit?”
The Summit's Core Objectives
The White House last week dismissed reporters' questions about the fact that it had not yet published a list of summit attendees, despite it being the 11th hour, or just days ahead of the gathering.
"One week is not the 11th hour when it comes to — when it comes to, you know, how things move. And so, that is that is a lifetime away for us as a — as a White House," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday. "And as soon as we have the final list, we will share that."
But absences by key countries such as Mexico could hamper the Biden administration's ability to achieve any of the summit's stated objectives.
For instance, a senior White House official on the National Security Council, Juan Gonzales, has said the Biden administration is preparing a declaration on record migration that leaders will sign at the summit.
But a Mexican boycott would diminish such an achievement, since any action on the massive wave of migration to the United States would require Mexico's cooperation.
Likewise, high-profile absences could serve to undermine any progress that the gathering might yield on other issues on the agenda, which include economic prosperity, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ukraine 'Disruption'
The exclusion of certain Latin American countries might not be the only matter dividing countries that ordinarily attend the Summit of Americas.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said that there is a real threat of disruption to the summit because a number of participants do not want the agenda to focus on the Ukrainian conflict, which is a key issue for the Biden administration.
"Mexico City, Buenos Aires and La Paz are not satisfied with Washington’s desire to focus the work of this forum on the Ukrainian topic and not invite the most important regional players — Havana, Caracas and Managua — because of their pro-Russian position on the situation around Ukraine," the SVR said in a statement on May 23.
Washington may have decided to temporarily muffle its demands on the Ukraine issue because it faced a difficult choice — to seek the consolidation of Latin American countries under the auspices of the United States, or to continue to push through an anti-Russian agenda at the regional level, the authority added.
"Attempts to impose on Latin Americans the line of the West on Ukraine led to the opposite effect. Instead of isolating Russia in Latin America, the United States and its Ukrainian allies have found themselves isolated," the SVR said.
