By trading natural resources, Russia gains influence / Article

The Ukrainian ambassador also noted that with this position, Latvia gives an answer to what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier: “Please don’t ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself why Putin is still able to continue it”.

Rustam Shukurov: The European Commission (EC) has sent the EU countries a draft proposal for the 14th sanctions package against Russia. Among other things, the proposal includes restrictions on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, although there are no plans for a full embargo. What is Ukraine’s position on this issue? Should the EU introduce a complete ban on the import of Russian liquefied natural gas?

Anatoly Kutsevol: Undoubtedly, any income that could enter the Russian budget affects the war effort and gives [Maskavai] opportunity to continue it. On the other hand, there is also a general discussion about what could be done right now. On how to actually create new supply chains. Therefore, there are often difficulties in agreeing on the sectors that should be included in the sanctions package.

The issue of gas supply in the EU has always been a source of negativity. And since the beginning of this ten-year war, the question of gas supplies has always been hanging in the air. And unfortunately, there is a painful story in our history when we gave up our ballistic missiles and strategic aviation because of gas debt. It was actually the biggest mistake ever. Everyone needs to understand how Russia conducts trade. By trading natural resources, it gains influence. That would be my answer to that question.

Continuing a little on sanctions. There is Russia, which launched a war against Ukraine, and there are countries that work closely with Moscow. One of them is China. These days, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting the European continent. His visit comes as the US and EU are increasingly concerned that China’s dual-use exports to Russia are strengthening its war machine. According to Ukraine, should the EU be more aggressive in imposing sanctions on Chinese companies that sell such goods to Russia? What diplomatic efforts is Ukraine making to persuade China not to supply dual-use goods to Moscow?

It is very important to emphasize that we are seeing the first visit of a Chinese leader to Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic. He visited France and met with President Emmanuel Macron and the President of the European Commission [Urzulu fon der Leienu]. And we know that the discussions started even earlier – both with the leaders of the USA and Germany. So that means diplomatic efforts are being made.

The international community is talking to China, and it is a dialogue. This is very important because China itself has a general strategy which includes that it should not support any side in any war. They say that they do not provide support with weapons, but

modern warfare completely changed our perception of what a weapon could be, including drones and other elements used in the production of weapons and dual-use goods.

That is why I consider the announcement immediately after Xi’s meeting with President Macron and President von der Leyen to be important, indicating China’s commitment to make greater efforts to prevent such goods from reaching Russia. Therefore, they also need to talk to their companies who call themselves independent in doing business. If China took legal action to block such exports, everyone would benefit.

[Ukrainā] hopes to see China’s involvement in peace talks. We are having a dialogue with our Chinese counterparts about taking part in the Ukrainian peace conference in Switzerland and actually looking for a solution to stop the war.

Speaking of modern war needs, last week another aid shipment was sent from Latvia to Ukraine – 102 FPV drones “IRSIS” manufactured in Latvia. But how does Ukraine assess the efforts of the Latvian-initiated drone coalition to provide support to Ukraine?

Thanks to Latvia, we have an active drone coalition, and discussions are taking place within it. Drones are a technology that is updated daily and sometimes even hourly. That’s why the military is demanding updates immediately. We are really happy about the recent decision of the Latvian government to send a batch of drones to support Ukraine. There are also civil society organizations that we were pleased to see involved in the delivery of drones produced in Latvia. But efforts should not be made only for Latvia. They must also be applied to other partners.

As with any business, its creation takes some time to create technologies, hire people, and then adapt and service these technologies.

Fortunately, in Ukraine, since the beginning of the war, we have already established a large production of drones. We are capable of producing approximately one million drones. Another million is needed for this war as well [partneru] countries to replenish their stocks.

But the process has begun, and eventually we will be able to achieve this goal, because drones are a life-saving tool.

Although much of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression is determined by technology, manpower resources also play a vital role in modern warfare. Recently, Ukraine has come up with regulations, which provide for passports to be issued to men of conscription age only within the country, and not at foreign diplomatic missions. This was done to encourage them to return to their homeland. Will the implementation of these regulations achieve the desired results for Ukraine?

In accordance with the rules, we stopped issuing documents to men aged 18-60. Therefore, they have to wait until May 18. Then men in this age group will have to enter information about themselves into the state’s digital database. The rules state that every man in Ukraine must submit his data.

So we stopped issuing and renewing documents for a while, because most of these men already have the necessary documents for living – passports, etc.

From May 18, it will be a really simple procedure. They will submit their details and consular services will again be provided to them. It will be their free choice to return to Ukraine if they are subject to military service.

If they are not summoned, they will have other legal ways to stay out of the country. There are various political discussions about how to bring Ukrainians back, but no one is forcing them to return. Therefore, we will not be looking for anyone in other countries.

This is quite understandable. If the country decides to cancel some services and you don’t want to follow the laws of Ukraine… if you are subject to military service and you don’t show up, it means you have to think about respect for your country. You have to decide for yourself what kind of Ukrainian you will be and which country’s passport holder you would like to be.