China News Agency, Beijing, March 21. Comprehensive news: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the 20th that Western sanctions against Russia have brought risks and opportunities at the same time. EU Foreign and Security Policy High Representative Borrell said on the 20th that the EU will provide Ukraine with 1 million rounds of artillery within 12 months.
Putin Says Western Sanctions Bring Risks and Opportunities to Russia
According to the TASS news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the 20th that Western sanctions against Russia have brought both risks and economic opportunities to Russia, which are mainly reflected in the issue of “import substitution”. stuff.” He also said Russia’s unemployment rate had fallen to 3.6 percent, the lowest level on record.
EU plans to send 1 million rounds of artillery shells to Ukraine
According to Reuters, EU member states reached an agreement on an aid plan to Ukraine with a total value of 2 billion euros on the 20th. As part of the plan, 17 EU member states and Norway signed an agreement on the 20th to cooperate in the procurement of shells.
According to the plan, the EU will provide Ukraine with 1 million rounds of artillery shells within 12 months, EU Foreign and Security Policy High Representative Borrell said through social media on the same day.
U.S. provides another $350 million in military aid to Ukraine
According to a Reuters report, the U.S. State Department issued a statement on the 20th stating that the U.S. has decided to provide Ukraine with another military aid worth 350 million U.S. dollars, including artillery ammunition, missiles, and anti-tank weapons.
According to relevant statistics, since February last year, the total amount of US military aid to Ukraine has exceeded 32.5 billion US dollars.
Russian ambassador to the United States expresses concern about the whereabouts of U.S. aid to Ukraine
According to a report by the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 21st, in response to the new U.S. military aid plan for Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said that Russia has reason to worry that part of the U.S. military aid to Ukraine may fall to terrorists and terrorists. hands of criminals.
He also warned that continued U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine could lead to a “geographical expansion of the Ukrainian crisis” and increase “the risk of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in an interview with the TASS news agency on the 20th that if there is no progress in meeting Russia’s requirements for the agreement on the export of agricultural products to the Black Sea port within 60 days, the agreement may expire. execution is then terminated.
The Russian side confirmed on the 18th of this month that the agreement on the export of agricultural products to the Black Sea port, which was originally scheduled to expire on the same day, was extended for 60 days. However, the Russian side has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Russian-related parts of the agreement, believing that Western sanctions still cause difficulties in Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports.
Japanese Prime Minister Visits Ukraine
According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Ukraine on the 21st local time and will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is the first visit to Ukraine by a Japanese leader since February last year.
Bloomberg reported that Fumio Kishida was the last G7 leader to visit Ukraine since February last year. (over)