Argentina’s Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must stop and has not only destabilized peace but also impacted prices in his country.

“Latin America is a zone of peace, the most densely populated zone of peace,” Cafiero told The Associated Press in an interview. “And we have no military developments and no military infrastructure to participate in a war that we demand should be finished and should not continue.”

He said that Argentina had condemned Russia’s invasion from the onset “because Argentina believes that the principle of territorial integrity was violated by Russia. Argentina has always had the same message at international forums.”

“What we need is peace and escalation will only destroy … especially when it comes to creating lasting peace,” he said.

Cafiero said that the war, coming on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in the increase in food, fertilizer and energy prices that had also impacted Argentina. “Even though we are producers, the impact on prices, of course, generated high inflation,” he said.

He was in Dhaka to reopen Argentina’s Embassy as a gesture toward Bangladesh and its people who fervently support Argentina in the World Cup. Soccer legends Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are household names in Bangladesh, where thousands of Argentine flags are hoisted during the games.