President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to create a coordination platform between Ukraine and the EU to ensure the export of Ukrainian agricultural products. Zelenskyy and von der Leyen reported this at a joint briefing in Kyiv, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
Solidarity cannot be less than an objective need for it. But, unfortunately, we faced problems precisely in what should continue to be strong manifestations of solidarity. Tough, even brutal, as for the time of war, protectionist measures from our neighbors can't help but disappoint, to put it mildly. Any restrictions on our exports are now absolutely not permissible, because this does not strengthen us all in Europe, but only the capabilities of the aggressor," Zelenskyy said.
He said that Ukraine invited the European Commission to establish a consulting group to monitor problematic issues and EU countries to refrain from any decisions on trade without consulting Ukraine.
"We expect strong European decisions from the European Union and the removal of all restrictions as soon as possible if there is political will. And today's negotiations show that such a will is possible. Then we will be able to find optimal and really strong solutions that will protect the interests of both Europe as a whole and Ukrainians who suffer in addition to everything from the export restrictions applied against us," Zelenskyy said.
In turn, von der Leyen agreed that the topic of grain is complex and requires an early solution.
"You mentioned the topic of grain, and this is a difficult situation, and we need to look for its solution. The immediate priority now is that grain transit goes without obstacles and at the lowest possible price from Ukraine to the European Union. This requires very close cooperation from different stakeholders, so we are creating a joint coordination platform where we will ensure these elements of solidarity for full functioning," she said.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on May 9, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen came to Kyiv on an official visit.
In May, the European Commission banned imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia until June 5.
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