European leaders pledged this Thursday to “firmly and fully support Ukraine”, including through “economic and financial support”, but also “military support”, for “as long as it is necessary”. The leaders admit to sending missiles, if “as requested.”
The 27 welcomed the agreement reached at the ministerial level “to urgently supply Ukraine with ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition and, if requested, missiles.”
The agreement provides for the joint procurement and “mobilization of funds, in particular through the European Peace Mechanism, with the aim of providing one million artillery rounds, in a joint effort over the next twelve months.”
From Ukraine, connected by videoconference during the train ride back to Kiev after a trip to the front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the possibility of the war “prolonging”, calling for long-range missiles to be sent. and fighter planes.
According to European sources, Zelensky appreciated the military support that has already come to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. The Ukrainian president called for tougher sanctions.
António Guterres said this afternoon in Brussels that the world is facing “a perfect storm”, given the “combination of multiple factors”, which led “to a dramatic situation”.
In “many developing countries” there is even a regression in the patterns of Sustainable Development.
“More hunger, more poverty, less education, less health services in so many parts of the world. And it is clear that our international financial system is not destined to face such a big challenge. And we rely heavily on the European Union to lead the necessary transformations to resume the 2030 agenda,” Guterres defended.
In the debate with the European leaders, António Guterres took a message on the impact of sanctions on the export of fertilizers.
The possibility of adapting the sanctions to allow the export of fertilizers was an idea defended by António Costa. The idea is defended by the majority of the members of the European Council.
But there is a group led by Poland and the Baltic countries that considers that easing the measures would be a mistake that would show weakness, breaking those who only understand strength.
Slovenian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas believes that easing fertilizer penalties is the wrong strategy. Kallas says the global sustainability argument satisfies the Kremlin’s narrative and questions the argument made in Brussels by António Guterres.
“There are no limits for the export of Fertilizers from Russian ports,” says Kaja Kallas, noting that “they can use 18 ports.” Furthermore, it has “300 banks, and only 13 are sanctioned.”
“It is a Russian narrative to obtain something that weakens the sanctions,” he criticizes, considering “that it is a very wrong measure, because the aggressor only listens and understands force.” [e] If we weaken the sanctions, we will go after their narrative and we shouldn’t be doing that.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausedas says there is no reason to ease sanctions which, above all, have a purpose.
“These sanctions were imposed so that, from now on, the two regimes would feel certain consequences for their actions and, above all, for the war in Ukraine,” he recalled.
“Of course, in the case of Belarus we are also talking about other things,” he pointed out, recalling the cases of “the shooting down of a plane and illegal migrations.”
“And please tell me, what happened that is positive so that the sanctions can be eased? Nothing!” Nausedas stressed.
The Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, even admits an increase in sanctions, including the export of fertilizers.
“We highlight the very unfortunate role of Belarus in the war in Ukraine. Also, of course, we raise the fact that the Lukashenko regime has imprisoned more than 1,000 political prisoners, including many Poles active in Belarus,” Morawiecki said, leaving a warning.
“If this continues, we will strengthen our sanctions against Belarus and prevent the export of any products from Belarus,” he stressed.
questioned by TSF Waiting for António Guterres’s contribution to the discussion on European sanctions, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that Brussels cannot show weakness in the face of the actions of Minsk and Moscow.
“We need to make more efforts to help Ukraine and I think it is very important to discuss this matter with Secretary General Guterres because we need international support,” he stressed, emphasizing that “the war in Ukraine does not only concern Ukraine, in fact it concerns the entire rules-based international order”.
“If we don’t send a clear signal, a clear message that these actions by Russia are unacceptable, we will also lose the rules-based international order,” Sanna Marin stressed, joining critics of easing Russia’s fertilizer sanctions and the EU. .
Source: TSF
