Petro Melnyk: We should not contribute to making money for the state that is currently destroying our country
Interview of Petro Melnyk, executive director of Agricom Group and president of the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business for FREEDOM TV channel
Earlier, in an appeal to the president and the authorities, the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business recommended considering the implementation of plan “B” and not entering into interim agreements with the aggressor state. And I am personally sure that the Ukrainian authorities and negotiators will not support or contribute to any additional demands of russia.
If we talk about russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement, we do not currently see a problem with the supply of Ukrainian grain to world markets. Ukraine is already able to export more than 4 million tons of grain every month. The Danube ports, which have been actively developing recently, can currently handle more than 2 million tons of grain with the potential to expand to 3 million tons.
Of course, we want the Black Sea ports to work as well. I think it is possible that Ukrainian companies will order ships to Black Sea ports, and Turkey, as the main state of the Black Sea, which provides navigation through the Bosphorus, and which has one of the strongest armies in Europe, can provide safe passage for these ships. In this case, it is possible to work without the participation of russia.
Time will tell which of the options will be implemented. But at the moment we are not in a situation where we have no choice.
The choice in russia is also limited. And we should not contribute to making money for the state that is now destroying our country. Therefore, I think that plan B, as we call it, is quite real.
Negotiations are ongoing every day and the position of the Ukrainian negotiators is quite strong. I am sure that Ukraine will receive a worthy decision.
In my opinion, over the last year we have received more benefits, because we have more than 10 million people who depend on agriculture and receive funds from work in this field. And now our position is stronger. This should be used.
Full version of the interview: Freedom