The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmitry Kuleba, called on this Monday in Prague for non-extension in the countries of the east of the European Union (Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia) of a temporary veto on the import of Ukrainian cereals, which ends next month.
“We are clearly against [o prolongamento dessa proibição de importar cereais]”, Kuleba said at a press conference after meeting with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had in mind the intention of the five mentioned countries to extend the ban on the import of Ukrainian cereals without customs duties until the end of the year.
These Ukrainian agricultural products remained on the markets of these five countries at prices significantly lower than what local producers might charge, instead of reaching other European Union (EU) member states or non-EU third countries.
The veto granted by the EU last spring implies that Ukrainian grains can transit through (but not be sold there) Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia for sale in other EU member states or in countries or territories outside the EU.
Dmitry Kuleba considered that the ban “violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and, above all, contradicts the principle of solidarity, which is the cornerstone of the EU.”
He also warned that it would make it harder for grains to leave his country, which has already been struggling ever since Russia backed out of an agreement it reached a year earlier in July to ease food exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to international markets.
Back in May last year, after the entry into force of the ban on trade in Ukrainian corn, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower oil and sunflower seeds in five eastern EU member states, Ukraine’s commodity sector began to face serious difficulties in exporting grain from the country.
“We urge countries not to make the issue of wheat export a hostage of their domestic political process,” Kuleba said.
Thanking the military and humanitarian aid provided to Kyiv by these same community partners, the minister stressed that his country would fight to “defend” its rights, without specifying how it would do so.
“If restrictions continue, we will have no choice but to protect our rights and the rights of our farmers, and we want to avoid this situation with all our hearts,” he said.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine that lasted over 18 months.
The invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for the sake of Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political measures on Russia. and economic sanctions.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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