Romanian presidential candidate Ponta promises to stop exports of Ukrainian grain if he wins
Romanian presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that if he wins the election in May, he will stop the export of Ukrainian grain through Romanian ports in the Black Sea to protect local farmers.
He said this in an interview with Reuters, Censor.NET reports.
At the same time, he promised to defend Moldova in the event of a Russian attack.
Ponta explained that he is in favor of helping Ukraine, in particular through the transit of weapons and training of Ukrainian pilots, but does not support the transit of Ukrainian grain.
"In recent years, there has been a policy of favoring Ukrainian grain in terms of access to port capacities to the detriment of Romanian grain, and Romanian farmers have suffered greatly from this," the politician explained.
Romania helped export about 29 million tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta in the three years after Russia's invasion, becoming Ukraine's main alternative route.
More generally, Ponta said that he approves of the current "radical changes" in the United States and, if he wins the presidential election, will pursue a "Romania First" policy.
This includes supporting the accession of Moldova and the Western Balkans to the EU, as well as a strategic partnership with Poland and Turkey, the main military power in the Black Sea.
Background.
Victor Ponta, 52, is a former leftist prime minister of Romania whose policies have turned ultra-nationalist. He resigned from the government in 2015 after a deadly nightclub fire.
According to opinion polls, he has a chance to advance to the second round of voting along with far-right opposition leader George Simion, the candidate who replaced the banned far-right leader in the canceled vote.
