Mexican Foreign Minister Believes Granting Asylum To Morales Will Not Damage Ties With US

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2019) Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday that he was sure that his country's decision to grant an asylum to ousted Bolivian President Evo Morales would not damage its relations with the United States.

Earlier in the day, Morales arrived in Mexico to take up political asylum.

"The relations between Mexico and the United States are now at the highest level over the recent years and they should be based on respect and not subordination," Ebrard said, adding that different positions on some issues do not prevent the countries from maintaining good relations.

Ebrard emphasized that Mexico had taken "the best possible decision" by providing asylum to Morales.

"Evo Morales is the president elected by the Bolivians, and his term in office expires in January 2020. Therefore, there are no reasons, in my opinion, for this issue to become ... the cause of the confrontation between the countries of Latin America as we talk about the elected president," he added.

The unrest in Bolivia erupted in the wake of the presidential election on October 20. The electoral authorities said that Morales had secured a new term in the first round, while the opposition refused to recognize the results of the vote. Morales stepped down on Sunday after the national armed forces urged him to do so amid the ongoing protests.