KYIV: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday urged Southeast Asian nations to lend political and material support to his country in its conflict with Russia, while accusing Moscow of playing a "hunger game" with the rest of the world. accused of. Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products.
The deal allowing Ukraine to export grain and fertilizer is set to expire on November 19; Kuleba told reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit that the world should put pressure on Russia not to object to its expansion because Ukrainian products are needed in Africa and Asia.
Kuleba, however, went beyond simply upholding the agreement and accused Russian inspectors of "quiet sabotage" in deliberately delaying the approval of shipments.
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In addition to remaining a part of the initiative, Russia should "instruct its inspectors to act in good faith and to avoid any measures, any steps, that create barriers and block the access of Ukrainian agricultural products to the global market". hinders exports," the official said. "Russia should stop playing the World Hunger Game."
This year, the nation of Kuleba attended the ASEAN summit for the first time and signed a peace treaty with the grouping of nations with a combined population of nearly 700 million.
Many member states have so far taken a cautious approach to the invasion, condemning the conflict but generally avoiding assigning blame. Eight out of ten ASEAN countries supported a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russian aggression, with Vietnam and Laos absent.
The agreement signed with ASEAN, according to Kuleba, sends a clear message of support from the bloc, but he added that the "litmus test" will be how the UN General Assembly votes on resolutions related to Ukraine.
In addition to Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei, ASEAN also includes Myanmar, although its leaders are currently barred from attending meetings due to the country's ongoing violence and its failure to enforce is not permitted. The group's peace plan after the military takeover in 2021.
Using the Phnom Penh summit as "an Asian tour", according to Kuleba, he will meet ASEAN members and non-members such as Australia and seek political support, material assistance (such as transformers and generators to replace those damaged in the fighting), Will request for). , and improving food security and trade.
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He spoke on a day when US Vice President Joe Biden arrived at the talks and was scheduled to have a side meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He claimed that he expected to meet the Chinese Foreign Minister but was informed that he would not be there. Kuleba continued by saying that Ukraine was still in contact with China, urging Beijing to put pressure on Moscow to end the conflict.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was also present at the ASEAN meeting. Kuleba said he would be open to the idea if Lavrov requested a meeting, but claimed that so far Russia was using the talks as "a smokescreen for its continued aggression on the ground".
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It is only a matter of time and money for the victory of Ukraine, he said. Yes, there are some gains militarily, but Ukraine will also gain some diplomatically. But he added that "the territorial integrity of Ukraine is not something that can be discussed" in any talks.