German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects the possibility of lifting sanctions against Minsk in exchange for the transit of grain from Ukraine through Belarus.
“This in no way means that we should abandon the sanctions that we imposed on Lukashenka,” Scholz said in Vilnius on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Latvian and Estonian Prime Ministers Krisjanis Karins and Kaja Kallas .
According to the chancellor, Western countries are looking for ways to safely export these agricultural products from Ukraine in order to avoid food shortages in the world.
“It is Russia’s responsibility that grain cannot be taken out of Ukraine (. . .). We will try to find a solution, the UN is also trying to find a solution,” Scholz said.
He also noted that when unblocking the port of Odessa, it is necessary to ensure that “Russia does not abuse such decisions.”
The possibility of exporting Ukrainian grain through Belarus was previously rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine in May 2022 exported 1.74 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, as well as agricultural products, by all means of transport, which is 1.8 times more than in April, according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
“In May, compared to April 2022, there was a reorientation of export channels: 798,800 tonnes and 22,100 tonnes, respectively, were exported by water transport (river ports and ferry crossings), which made the river ports of Ukraine the main export gates,” said the department.
According to the report, in May, 959,350 tonnes of corn (more by 60% compared to April), 43,500 tonnes (an increase of 4.7 times), 11,600 tonnes of barley (less by 2%), 341,800 tonnes of sunflower seeds (an increase of 3.3 times), 66,620 tonnes of soybeans (more by 17%), and 101,000 tonnes of meal (an increase of 2.6 times) were shipped to foreign markets.
In addition, 202,650 tonnes of sunflower oil (more by 56% compared to April this year) and 16,080 tonnes of soybean oil were delivered to buyers abroad in May, which approximately corresponds to the April figures of 16,380 tonnes.
Due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the blockade of its export infrastructure in the Black Sea, the pace of exports of agricultural products is still inferior to the same period in 2021. So, in May 2021, some 2.24 million tonnes of corn, 857,800 tonnes of wheat, 22,000 tonnes of barley, 189,600 tonnes of sunflower seeds, 501,800 tonnes of sunflower oil, 36,180 tonnes of soybeans, 20,600 tonnes of soybean oil and 440,000 tonnes of meal were exported.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in May, 709,600 tonnes of export supplies of agricultural products, or 40% of its total exports, were shipped by rail. Some 56% of all exports of soybean oil, 53% of corn, 48% of meal, 39% of barley, 33% of soybeans and 28% of sunflower oil were transported by rail.
In turn, 75% of wheat, 59% of sunflower seeds, 57% of barley, 50% of soybeans and 43% of meal were exported through the river ports of the Danube.
Road transport in May provided 40% of exports of soybean oil, 32% of sunflower oil and 23% of sunflower seeds.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the internal political struggle in Ukraine and European countries may affect the amount of assistance to Ukraine.
“No one just wants to give anything, including weapons and sanctions. Leaders have united in Europe and the world, but their business is pressing from within. And the opposition is also not only here. If they have a chance to compete for power, they will fight. This struggle will affect the weakening of support for Ukraine,” he said on Monday at a press conference in Kyiv.
“We need to record and understand this. And as soon as our country stops fighting with rhetoric, as soon as we start fighting politically, they will understand that we have no war,” Zelensky said.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced the need to create a “European preparatory space” (Europäischen Vorbereitungsraum), staying in which will allow Ukraine and Moldova to come closer to EU standards.
According to him, it should be “an intermediate step between cooperation and full accession to the EU.”
“We are united by one goal, we all want a strong, independent and economically successful Ukraine. Currently, Ukraine is fighting for its political and territorial survival. All our efforts are primarily aimed at ending Russia’s aggressive war. At such a stage, rapid full accession to the European Union cannot be a topical issue anyway,” Nehammer said in an interview with Kronen Zeitung.
According to him, it is necessary to “remove emotions from the current debate and apply the same standards that are also used in relation to other applicants from the Western Balkans.”
“In my opinion, the immediate full accession of Ukraine is unrealistic,” the Chancellor said.
Nehammer said he supported French President Emmanuel Macron’s interesting idea of creating a “European Political Community”. “Discussions are largely about either – or. Little attention has been paid to practical options that ensure close ties with the EU in many areas and strengthen the Ukrainian economy. But this is exactly what is needed now,” the Chancellor said.
According to the newspaper, according to the Federal Chancellery, close and gradual cooperation between the EU and Ukraine is possible in various fields, similar to what is envisaged by the French proposals. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and European Minister Caroline Edtstadler have already addressed the EU partners with these proposals.
The national football team of Ukraine lost to the Wales team 1:0 and failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar in November-December.
The Wales team scored the only goal at the Cardiff City stadium in the 34th minute, when Andriy Yarmolenko cut the ball in his own net after a free kick by Garrit Bale.
The volume of foreign currency sales by the population of Ukraine in May exceeded the volume of its purchase by $262.2 million, which is higher than the April figure of $237.8 million, the National Bank of Ukraine reported.
According to the data on its website, “net” sales are still formed due to non-cash currency in the conditions of the almost complete ban on its purchase by the population introduced by the National Bank since the beginning of the war: in May, the volume of currency sales decreased to $244.1 million from $252.6 million in April and $375.3 million in March, while purchase volumes were $10.2 million compared to $8.6 million and $18.6 million, respectively.
In the cash market, the volume of transactions increased significantly due to the removal of the ceiling on the sale price of the currency by the National Bank. If in March-April banks sold to the population $72 million and $62.7 million, respectively, then in May – $216.9 million.
The volume of purchases of foreign currency from the population on the official market in May also increased – to $188.6 million from $68.8 million in April and $71.3 million in March.
At the same time, in general, in May, bank customers began to buy significantly more non-cash currency than to sell: “net” purchase amounted to $1,184 million compared to $421.2 million in April and $165 million in March.
In general, since the beginning of this year, the population has sold foreign currencies by $290.4 million more than they bought, while bank customers, on the contrary, bought it by $4.02 billion more than they sold.
According to the NBU data, the turnover on the official cash foreign exchange market tripled in May compared to March-April, but it is still 7 times lower than February, and 10 times lower than December.
The volume of sales of non-cash currency decreased by an average of half compared to pre-war levels, while the volume of purchases fell by almost two orders of magnitude.
NBU interventions in May rose to $3.4 billion from $2.2 billion in April, $1.78 billion in March, $0.31 billion in February and $1.31 billion in January.
