Ukrainian FM: ‘100% we will win, and Russia will be defeated’
Al Jazeera speaks to Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on the Russian oil embargo, NATO and how he thinks the war will end.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has appealed to Group of Seven (G7) nations to provide more military aid and support Kyiv in the fight against the Russian in-vaison, including more sanctions on Moscow.
Kuleba, who was invited as a guest at the meeting of foreign ministers from the group of world’s richest nations in Weissanhaus, Germany, also called for a ban on Russian oil imports and the seizure of Russian assets abroad to pay for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
For its part, the European Union announced a further 500 million euros ($520m) package for Ukraine to further bolster its defences against Russia.
Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays sat down with Kuleba over the weekend in a wide-ranging interview covering issues such as the expansion of NATO, sanctions and how the war is likely to end.
Al Jazeera: The EU has announced that it’s going to give another five, over 500 million euros, bringing the total to over a billion that it’s giving to buy weaponry for Ukraine, including heavy weaponry. In terms of the G7 as a whole, is that enough? Is that what you need?
Dmytro Kuleba: The additional 500 million euros to the European peace facility, they bring the total sum to two billion ($2.08bn). So it’s now two billion euros that the European Union has allocated to the military defence needs of Ukraine. And of course, this is much appreciated. We still have some outstanding issues with regard to military supplies. But in principle, we are now in a much better position compared to where we were, let’s say, months ago.
Al Jazeera: In terms of sanctions … there’s a new EU sanctions package under discussion, and that would go even further, it would stop oil imports from Russia. There is one country at the moment that is blocking that, Hungary. Why do you think Prime Minister [Viktor] Orban is blocking that?
Kuleba: Well, the official line of Hungary says that this oil embargo, as it was proposed by the European Commission [EC] does not accommodate a number of Hungarian concerns. And therefore, the EC engaged in a conversation with Hungary to accommodate those concerns… And we will see whether Hungary was blocking the oil embargo because of its national concerns… or they’re doing it for some other reasons of higher political consideration.
Al Jazeera: If Orban goes ahead and vetoes this package, what actions should the EU take?
Kuleba: Well I’m afraid the European Union will face a precedent, a risk of creating a precedent when the unity was broken, when the unity on Russia was broken, and this will be the first such case since 2014. I believe that it will cause a lot of damage for the European Union itself.