By KYIV. Nov 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The leaders of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia supported the Grain from Ukraine initiative announced by the President of Ukraine and announced further efforts to build up existing and create new transit corridors for the export of Ukrainian grain and other foodstuffs.
"Since the beginning of the war, 8.4 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds from Ukraine have been delivered in transit (through Romania) to consumers in the world. In the coming months, we expect an increase in transit exports from Ukraine," Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said in a video message at the International Summit on Food Security in Kyiv on Saturday.
He said that Romania has acted very resolutely in support of the export of Ukrainian grain through Romanian ports and will continue to work to increase communication between the countries by land and rail, in particular, a new border checkpoint has recently been opened.
Ciucă also said that Romania provides and will not retreat from the support of Ukraine and Moldova in the energy sector. "We will not allow Russia to plunge the region into darkness," he said.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at the summit that in recent months Bulgaria has managed to transport about 200,000 tonnes of grain from Ukraine across the Danube River, and the country intends to continue this transport project.
"Unfortunately, the loss of electricity in Ukrainian ports due to Russian shelling has complicated this process for Bulgarian ships," he said.
Radev also said that Bulgaria is providing fuel to Ukraine so that the country can support the agricultural and transport sectors.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković also supported the work on new corridors for the supply of Ukrainian products within the framework of the EU Solidarity Lanes project.
"Croatia is actively joining, and will attract other ports on the Adriatic and there are opportunities for corridors along the Danube River," the head of the Croatian government said.
The leaders of the three countries welcomed the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another 120 days, while the Bulgarian President called for sustainable long-term solutions.
