Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrived in Kiev on Saturday in a show of support for Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks on military assistance and grain exports
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2022) Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrived in Kiev on Saturday in a show of support for Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks on military assistance and grain exports.
"Arrived in Kyiv. After the heavy bombing of recent days, we stand with the people of Ukraine. More than ever before. With the cold winter months ahead, Belgium is releasing new humanitarian and military aid," De Croo said on social media.
Zelenskyy published a video of his meeting with De Croo on Telegram. He said the talks focused on the grain export deal and the release of assistance funding to Ukraine.
The two leaders also signed a joint declaration endorsing Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union and NATO.
"I thank Belgium and Mr. Prime Minister for the joint declaration signed today. This document confirms Belgium's support for our path toward full membership in the European Union and NATO. We are sure to achieve this important result," Zelenskyy said during a press conference.
Kiev has also appealed to Brussels to ramp up military aid and supply Ukraine with power generators, which are critical for supporting the country's energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy said. He further lauded Belgium for being at the forefront of "freezing Russian assets over 50 billion Euros ($52 billion)."
De Croo, in his turn, said that Ukrainians were "facing an extremely difficult winter" amid power cuts and failing heating, and reaffirmed Belgium's commitment to supply power generators and other assistance to schools and hospitals.
"We were one of the first countries to provide military aid. And we will continue to do so by supplying fuel, machine guns, self-propelled artillery, and so on," De Croo added.
Belgium's Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said on Friday that the government had approved a new military support package for Ukraine that included underwater drones and mobile laboratories. The small European nation, a member of NATO, has spent 76 million euros ($79 million) on weapons for Ukraine.
