Maldives on Thursday contested charges made on the basis of WikiLeaks documents that it said it would toe the American line on the Copenhagen Accord only if U.S. gave assistance of $50 million.
A statement issued by the Maldivian Presidential Secretariat released correspondence which shows that the country pledged its support to the Copenhagen Accord unilaterally and without reservations on December 19, 2009, just hours after the climate change negotiations concluded in the Danish capital.
It said that Copenhagen Accord was signed over two months before the meeting between the Maldivian Ambassador to the U.S. and American government officials in which the Maldives supposedly demanded funding from the U.S.
It quoted Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed as saying that some parties were attempting to smear the Maldives, by selectively quoting U.S. government cables.
“President Nasheed spent many hours late at night in the final Heads of State meeting which negotiated the Copenhagen Accord, working with other leaders to try to avoid a total collapse of the negotiations and to ensure that the interests of small island and vulnerable countries were protected,” it quoted Dr. Shaheed as saying.
