Iran Press/America: Conservative politician, Alejandro Giammattei, elected on Sunday as President of Guatemala, said he "does not want confrontation" with US President Donald Trump but demanded 'respect' on Monday evening in an interview with AFP.
The elected president, who agrees to have "a strong character," has announced that he will "be respectful" in his dealings with Trump. But he demanded "reciprocity" from his American counterpart.
"All diplomacy comes down to reciprocity, if he respects me, I respect him, if he treats me well, I treat him well, if he treats me badly, I treat him badly," he said.
The president-elect of Guatemala, a 63-year-old former doctor and prisons chief, managed to secure 59 percent of the votes in Sunday’s election, beating former first lady Sandra Torres, who could just garner about 42 percent of the votes.
Without criticising up front the controversial immigration agreement concluded at the end of July with Washington by the government of the outgoing president Jimmy Morales, Giammattei announced that the text will have to be submitted for the approval of the Guatemalan parliament.
Under a threat of US sanctions, Morales signed the immigration accord with Trump’s administration late last month to make Guatemala a so-called safe third country for migrants, despite the fact that his nation suffers from endemic poverty and violence.
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