EU has to work on strengthening corridors for Ukrainian grain - German Minister

The European Union should make every effort to ensure that Ukraine can export its agricultural products, and that the countries of the Global South receive Ukrainian grain.

That’s according to Germany’s Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, who spoke ahead of the EU agricultural and fisheries ministerial in Luxembourg on Monday, Ukrinform reports.

After pulling from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia has been purposefully bombarding Ukraine’s grain logistics capacities, and continues to weaponize hunger, said Özdemir, who actually witnessed Russia’s criminal actions during a recent visit to Odesa.

“We have to do everything to allow the export of grain to the Black Sea. The EU also has to work fully to ensure that the work of Solidarity Lanes is reinforced. Our common goal is that Ukraine is able to sell its agricultural products,” the minister said.

According to him, Germany is working on this, in particular, in negotiations with Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi, "but without unnecessary populism and without feeding Putin’s propaganda." Prior to this, Özdemir called his EU colleagues to do the same.

He also noted that he would be happy to see Poland being a more proactive player in this matter. "We need a strong Polish voice here, given the experience that Poland has in the question of Putin and Russia, but also on other issues," the politician added.

On September 26, four Central European countries called on the European Union to thoroughly check the Solidarity Lanes, along which Ukrainian grain is exported to third countries.

Representatives from the agrarian ministries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia claim that part of the grain that is being shipped actually remains in countries such as Poland, which affects local farmers.