The ruling Morena party has rejected a statement from an affiliated youth organization that expressed support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Juventudes Morena Estado de México (México state Morena Youth) published a statement Tuesday that voiced “moral and political support” for the “difficult decision” taken by Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Russia’s neighbor.

The group claimed that Putin is acting “in legitimate defense of his people” to avoid greater conflict.

He is “prioritizing world peace by intervening militarily in Ukrainian territory with the intention of depleting neo-nazi forces with a coup origin that murdered entire Russian-descent populations in Donbass,” the statement said.

Juventudes Morena blamed the United States and its NATO and European Union allies for causing the conflict, saying they motivated Ukraine to join their bloc so that weapons of mass destruction could be placed on Russia’s border.

Their sole intention is to “generate hate and fear based on the imperialist doctrine that has polarized the world and yielded coups, creating wars, famines and diseases with the sole excuse of bringing ‘democracy,’” the youth organization said.

Morena, which governs Mexico and 16 of the 32 federal entities, denounced the statement as “unofficial.”

“Our movement expresses its commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes and the principle of non-intervention. We respect the freedom of thought of our members but … the statement doesn’t represent the official position of Morena,” the party said on social media.

The federal government – led by Morena’s founder, President López Obrador – has condemned Russia’s invasion, joining 140 other member countries of the United Nations General Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Mexico thanked Juventudes Morena for its support and “words of solidarity.”

Mexico News Daily