Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze: “The blockade of Ukrainian grain is only one of the tools of the Russian aggression. We must act comprehensively”

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU took part in the Warsaw Security Forum. She participated in the discussion “Hunger as a weapon: Russia's attempts to destabilise the world.”

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that any attempts to negotiate with Russia are doomed to failure: “We can discuss here what can be done to help transport Ukrainian grain, e.g. convoys to accompany ships. We can decide whose ships these should be not to provoke further escalation, as the Western partners believe. We can talk about strengthening Solidarity Roads to transport grain by land. We can also discuss financial mechanisms to reduce the cost of transport. But I am convinced that all this does not work. This only brings us to the main point: in order for Ukrainian grain to finally reach the countries of destination, Ukraine must win the war. And we need respective tool, to win and restore the economy of Ukraine.”

The Chair of the Committee is sure that Russia acts in the grain crisis in exactly the same way as it acts in Ukraine: “When it wants to leave Ukrainians without heat, electricity and gas supply ahead of winter, it attacks our infrastructure. When it wants to get rid of a competitor in the agricultural sector and hopes to reduce the sanctions pressure or influence the countries of the South, it attacks Ukrainian ports, transport infrastructure, grain warehouses, blows up the Kakhovska dam and massively mines the most fertile Ukrainian lands. Russia wants these lands not to be used for crops in the next decades.” According to the Chair of the Committee, the Russian Federation is doing everything to destroy Ukraine. It is committing genocide against the Ukrainian people. “We must understand that the grain blockade and the attack on Ukrainian infrastructure are tools of the Russian war. We cannot eliminate just one of them. We need to act comprehensively,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.

She stated that she did not believe in an agreement with Russia: “We saw the agreement with Russia mediated by Turkey and the UN and how soon Russia broke.” According to the Chair of the Committee, the Russian Federation uses every weakness and every doubt it recognises. “Russia catches an opportunity to bargain for something — perhaps for easing the sanctions pressure. And this is what the international community and international organisations are not yet able to cope with,” said the Chair of the Committee. So, according to her, it’s time to think about instruments that international organisations should use in their policy against Russia. “It has already destroyed the international order which has been established after the Second World War. We need new tools to be able to oppose Russia. We may not give in to war fatigue, as Russia expects. The war is close to you. People die every day. This must not be forgotten,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.