Zelensky calls for removal of restrictions on Ukrainian food exports

President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the removal of what he termed the "destructive" impact of bans of Ukrainian food products by five EU members during a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel.

“I emphasize that this not only violates the existing Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union but also gives dangerous hope to the Kremlin. The hope that in our common European home, someone's wrong decisions can prevail over common interests," Zelensky said in a video address on April 28 following the call.

“The artificial and illegal restriction of trade with the European Union is hitting Ukraine, resisting Russian aggression, both economically and politically,” the president said.

EU member states Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria also on April 28 agreed to restrictions of Ukrainian grain products as part of a deal with the EU that replaced unilateral bans on imports each country had put in place in response to plummeting domestic prices.

“I’m convinced that in the conditions of war with Russia, Ukraine as a candidate country and the European Union must always adhere to the provisions of the Association Agreement and the rules and regulations of the EU Single Market," Zelensky also said.

“It is necessary to find a normal, constructive way out of this situation in the European spirit.”

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Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query