PARIS: In light of the current conflict with Russia, the French foreign minister reiterated Paris’ ongoing support for Ukraine on Tuesday.
In a joint press conference alongside Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba at the sidelines of the Ambassadors’ Conference in Paris, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna restated France’s support for Ukraine as long as needed to defeat the Russian aggression.
The French minister emphasized the necessity of this, not just for Ukraine’s defense but also for collective security and an international order “based on the law and not on force.”
She stressed that this commitment is not only aimed at safeguarding Ukraine but also at upholding collective security and the international system, grounded in legal principles rather than coercion.
France Condemns Deliberate Destruction of Ukraine’s Infrastructure
Additionally, Colonna slammed Russia for “deliberately destroying” Ukrainian infrastructure and even cereals, calling it a “real blackmail to food security, hitting in the first place the most vulnerable and needy countries.” France will continue its efforts to assure food security in global markets, the minister vowed.
Russia announced on July 17 that it was pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Accord because the Russian portion of the agreement had not been carried through. Prior to returning to the accord, it requested the easing of banking limitations and the right to ship its fertilizer.
The agreement, which was signed in Istanbul in July 2022 by Turkey, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, was meant to restart grain exports from Ukrainian ports that had been interrupted as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, which had started in February 2022.
Dmytro Kuleba, for his part, emphasized the significance of initiatives toward a just and lasting peace.
“We recall that until recently, there were no strategic concepts that envisaged the security of Europe without Russia,” Kuleba added. But it is now clear that Ukraine is essential to maintaining Europe’s collective security since it upholds the same ideals as France and the EU countries and has the means to protect itself. On the battlefield, we demonstrated it.
