French foreign minister reiterates continued support for Ukraine amid Russia war

By Nur Asena Erturk

The French foreign minister on Tuesday reiterated Paris' continued support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war with Russia.

“This support will continue and intensify as long as needed to defeat the Russian aggression," Catherine Colonna said in a joint news conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, on the sidelines of the Ambassadors' Conference in Paris.

The French minister stressed that this is needed not only to defend Ukraine but also to ensure the collective security and the international system that is “based on the law and not on the force.”

Colonna also criticized Russia for its "deliberately destroying " the Ukrainian infrastructures and even the cereals, which she said represents a “real blackmail to food security, hitting in the first place the most vulnerable and needy countries."

The minister vowed that France would pursue its efforts to ensure food security in international markets.

On July 17, Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, saying the Russian part of the agreement was not implemented. It sought the loosening of banking restrictions and the ability to ship its fertilizer before returning to the agreement.

The agreement, signed in July 2022 in Istanbul by Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, was aimed at resuming grain exports from Ukrainian ports halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022.

Dmytro Kuleba, for his part, stressed the importance of efforts toward just and sustainable peace.

"We recall, just until recently, strategic concepts which did not conceive Europe's collective security without Russia," Kuleba said. "But now, it is evident that Europe's collective security is not possible without Ukraine, because Ukraine shares the same values as France and EU nations, and also has a military power and real capacity to defend itself. We proved it on the battlefield."