But Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Panama Canal legally belongs to Panama and warned against the United States trying to take it back, whether through military or economic coercion.
“In the upcoming talks between Panamanian leadership and US President Donald Trump on the issue of managing the Panama Canal, we expect both parties to respect the current international legal regime of this vital waterway. ” said Alexander Shchetinin, head of the Latin-speaking region. According to Russian state media, the American Bureau of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
“Russia (…) affirms its obligation to maintain the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal and insists on keeping this international shipping waterway safe and open,” Shchetinin said, adding that the United States has “an obligation to maintain the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal.” “We have no right to interfere,” he added. It’s a matter of Panama’s internal affairs. (Russia began a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in the winter of 2022.)
The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is one of the United States’ most important trade routes, with approximately 40 percent of all container ships in the country passing through the canal.
President Trump’s first threat to the canal last month drew sharp criticism from Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who said the Central American country’s control of the waterway was “non-negotiable.” Ta.
“As president, I want to state unequivocally that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will always belong to Panama,” Mulino said.
