Bans on the import of Ukrainian grain give dangerous hope to the Kremlin, — Zelenskyy

At a time when the export of Ukrainian grain was threatened by the military aggression of russian federation, the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine to a number of EU countries gives the kremlin a dangerous hope.

When Russia violates the freedom of trade, tries to block the supply of agricultural products to the world market, it is definitely not the time for anyone to follow the evil state and do something similar. This was announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an evening video message .

“We separately discussed with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the situation surrounding the destructive, in my opinion, ban by certain states on the import of our agricultural products,” the head of state said.

According to him, bans on the import of Ukrainian grain not only violate the existing Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, but also give “dangerous hope to the kremlin.”

Zelensky emphasized that it is necessary to find a normal, “in the European spirit”, a constructive way out of the situation. We need a solution that would take into account the interests of all countries and Europe in general.

It will be recalled that in April, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria introduced a temporary ban on the import of Ukrainian grain and other types of agricultural products.

At the end of the month, the European Commission reached an agreement with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria on  unblocking the import of agricultural products from Ukraine. However, the Commission undertook to introduce a ban on the import of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower. We will remind you that these crops account for 90% of all exports of agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU.