CAMBODIA: At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual conference, which is presently taking place in Cambodia, Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has asked Southeast Asian nations to take all necessary measures to stop Russia from engaging in “hunger games” over a Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine.
The deal, which was mediated in July by the UN and Turkey, allows for the export of food and fertiliser from a number of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The prolongation might expire on November 19 if neither Russia nor Ukraine objects.
More than 10 million tonnes of grain and other produce have reportedly been exported under the agreement, according to the UN. It had previously issued a warning that Russia’s assault on Ukraine was aggravating a worldwide food crisis and putting tens of millions more people at risk of hunger.
Speaking at a press conference outside the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Kuleba, stated that Russia’s continued participation in the agreement was insufficient. He also added, “Steps should be taken to ensure its inspectors weren’t purposefully delaying shipments and driving up global prices.”
“It is not enough to simply keep Russia on board. It is also critical to ensure that Russian inspectors who engage in this project behave in good faith and assess ships without any artificial delays,” he mentioned by remarking the suffering in Asia and Africa.
He further continued by saying, “I strongly encourage all ASEAN countries to use every legal tool at their command to stop Russia from engaging in hunger games with the rest of the world.”
For the first time, Ukraine is taking part in both the ASEAN summit and the concurrent East Asian summit.
Kuleba claimed that he had spoken with ASEAN leaders about how they could assist Ukraine and that he had made it clear to them that remaining neutral and refusing to denounce Russia would be detrimental to their interests. He said, “The worst thing a country can do is nothing.”
Along with the leaders of the other nine ASEAN nations, Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Australia are also present.
External Affairs of India S. Jaishankar also attended the ASEAN summit. Kuleba mentioned his meeting with Jaishankar by tweeting, “My Indian counterpart @DrSJaishankar and I met to discuss bilateral cooperation and ways to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. Emphasized that Russia must immediately cease deadly attacks, withdraw all troops from Ukraine, and commit to peace. “We also focused on global food security.”
In addition, the vice president of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, met with the ASEAN leaders.
“India and ASEAN have a same objective of promoting regional peace, development, and stability,” Indian Vice President Dhankhar said prior to a private meeting with ASEAN leaders.
Kuleba stated that Lavrov had not asked for a meeting with him at the conference, as would be the norm in international diplomacy.
Asserting that Russia must engage in all conversations in good faith, Kuleba stated, “If he does, we will thoroughly consider his request.”
He claimed that there is not a single sign that Russia is genuinely interested in talks. “We’ve “been there, we’ve done it, we’ve tried, sitting down at a table for a nice picture,” he continued.
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