Ms Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze:

Every single argument that could be found and used internally in discussions to carry on sanctions and pressure Russia additionally is of extreme importance.

We are grateful that Ireland has made the decision not to let Russian ships into its ports but another step has to be taken not to let in ships under different flags carrying Russian trade products. That is also of huge importance because what Russia is doing right now is stealing. For example, in the occupied territories, it is stealing our grain and our agricultural equipment and selling, or trying to sell, our stolen products - like looters - to other nations using different ships and so on. It is hard to comprehend the scope of the crimes Russia is carrying out or even count them on all ten fingers because the variety is very big. There are also some assets of Russian affiliates registered with the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin. I am kindly asking the members, as politicians, to engage with their Government and see how those assets could be frozen and then seized. They could then potentially be transferred or repaid to Ukrainians who have lost their homes, their loved ones or their health when they were wounded and so on. That is why I am saying we need sanctions to pressure Russia.

We have to understand it is not Putin who is fighting this war against us. It is the collective responsibility of the Russian Federation. Russia must be weakened to the extent that it is not capable of carrying out additional attacks on Ukraine or starting any other war in the whole world, which it was doing before this. It was showing off to the world with its credible strong response. Russia understands the language of power, unity and strength. It is provoked by weak reactions. That is what has been happening over decades, unfortunately, with the Russian attack on Georgia, Russian engagement in Syria, and the initial attack back in 2014 on Crimea and on the east of Ukraine. I hope we will not make this mistake again and that the lessons learnt are being exercised and carried out at this moment by many nations. Together we will be able to ensure that the "Never again" we repeated after the Second World War will actually become never again. As of this point in time, that is not there.

Obviously, here in Davos we are discussing the issue of the potential food crisis imposed on the world because of the Russian war against Ukraine. Approximately 22 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain is currently stored in Ukraine, which shows our capacity to feed 400 million people a year. Unfortunately, at present, with all the improvements we can make on our western border, using the rail network, lorries and ground transportation through Europe and on to the European port of Gdansk and ports in Lithuania, we can only increase our exports by 30%. That will not solve the issue. That would mean we would need six years to export everything in terms of crops that we have. We will have the new harvest in July, which means we will have to destroy some of the crops we already have because we do not have the facilities to store them. That will happen at a time when people in northern Africa and Middle Eastern countries, who are on dependent on our exports of these products, might face real hunger. There is an urgent need to unblock the sea route from the Pivdennyi Port near Odesa through the engagement of the international community in order for Ukrainians to export these crops to ensure we deter the possibility of a food crisis. We do not have a solution to that issue yet but it is another very important topic on which we need to concentrate.

I would like to finish my remarks by thanking Ireland, along with almost 40 other nations, for filing a claim to the International Criminal Court, ICC, of Russian war crimes on the territory of Ukraine. We in Ukraine sincerely believe this war must be ended with Russian defeat and isolation, and definitely with Russia's punishment. Therefore, it is very important that we are currently working on documenting and registering all the war crimes against humanity that have been revealed to the world after the liberating of some of the areas that were occupied by Russians near Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. Unfortunately there have been many Buchas around Ukraine that have been done by the so-called armed forces. I cannot call them the armed forces of the Russian Federation because they are violating every single convention that foresaw rules of engagement for war times. This is one track but we must also ensure Russia is punished and prosecuted for the war and crime of aggression. That means a separate tribunal, a Nuremburg mark 2 would be have to be set up. That would require much common effort by many nations. We are counting on Irish engagement and support in this endeavour.

I understand Ireland's contribution to the de-mining of lands through UN missions has been incredible. Unfortunately, approximately 300 sq km of new minefields, including agricultural fields that have been mined deliberately by the Russian Federation, are in dire need of urgent de-mining. Ireland's expertise, training and equipment in that regard would be extremely important. I would like the committee to also consider that possibility in addition to its humanitarian and financial aid, which are still very much needed. We appreciate what Ireland has already done in that respect by pledging money to the European Peace Facility to direct financial support for Ukraine. Even in these dire times we are thinking of the recovery of Ukraine and how to approach that in the best way in order that it would be a transparent process of engagement of other countries who are ready to provide additional support but also ensuring we use this drastic and most painful time as an opportunity to rebuild Ukraine as a better place in the centre and at the heart of Europe. I will stop on that point as it is much more important to hear members' questions and engage in direct communication through questions and answers or members' comments.