Bolivia says it advocates for protection of Palestinian women, children

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Bolivia advocates for protection of most vulnerable groups of people, women and children who are dying in Palestine, Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa Lunda said on Friday.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, following a meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Lunda said Bolivia expects a multipolar world to be built with the primacy of democratic institutions.

"We would like to protect the most vulnerable groups, women and children, who are dying as a result of Israeli military actions in Palestine. We would like to mark the illegal blockade of Cuba, Venezuela and other countries by the US," she said.

Lunda said Bolivia opposes the establishment of the US military bases in Latin America, because it creates risks for the sovereignty, self-determination and protection of countries.

"Of course, our countries do not benefit from this [establishment of US military bases], including NATO [military bases]. This organization does not produce or strive for peace, on the contrary, it provokes a lack of security. Our intentions are to strive for peace, and we would like to eliminate conflicts, we do not want to participate in them and continues to confront them," she said.

Lavrov, for his part, said Russia knows from its own experience "what this aggressive block is like."

The minister criticized NATO's expansion, saying first the bloc moved to Russia's borders, then moved to Asia, and now eyes to coming to Latin America. "I think, most of countries realize risks associated with this (appearance of NATO)," he said.

The two ministers said they also discussed bolstering economic cooperation and bilateral projects, including the construction of a nuclear research center in Bolivia and joint development of lithium in Bolivia.