Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Belgium of the ongoing trade in diamonds from Russia. The defenders of the besieged city of Mariupol were fighting for freedom and against tyranny, Zelenskyy said in a video speech in the Belgian parliament on Thursday. In contrast, there are those who have become so used to freedom that they don’t even want to realize what the fight for it is worth. This is “the world of those who believe that Russian diamonds, for example in Antwerp, are more important than the war in Eastern Europe.”
As another example, according to the official speech transcript, Zelenskyy cited the world of those who believe that Russian ship access to European ports is more important than Russian military attempts to destroy an entire nation.
The Flemish port city of Antwerp has been considered the diamond center of the world since the 16th century. In mid-March, the European Union banned diamond exports to Russia with its fourth package of sanctions. But the import of Russian rough diamonds, which is important for Antwerp, is still possible. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has recently emphasized that his country will not block further measures with regard to diamonds. Unlike Great Britain, for example, the EU has not yet issued a ban on Russian ships entering the local ports. The reason for this is resistance from countries like Belgium and the Netherlands.
Mariupol is the most terrible place in Europe today, Zelensky said. ‘It’s hell. It’s a disaster that everyone knows about, the whole world.” He drew a historical parallel to the First World War battles near the Belgian city of Ypres. «What do the defenders of Mariupol hope for? What are the hopes of the defenders of other towns and villages where the fighting is no less terrible than the battle you witnessed near Ypres? Or maybe it’s even worse in Mariupol.”
The Battles of Flanders near Ypres are among the bloodiest and most important on the Western Front in World War I. Tens of thousands of soldiers died on both sides. At that time, the German troops, who also used chemical weapons, tried to break through the Allied positions, but failed. (dpa)