Welcoming the audience and guest panellists, the EU Delegation Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Ms. Angela Martini, stressed how the repercussions of the war, now entering into its 18^th month, were felt well beyond the boundaries of Europe. “Be it because of its impact on food and energy supplies, on global security and regional stability, and on information, this war is affecting the lives of citizens all over the world, including in the MENA region and Jordan, and it’s reshaping the world global order.”

In her intervention, H.E. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Jordan Ms. Myroslava Shcherbatiuk, underlined how the war is part of a wider Russian strategy: “Russia has been waging a global war, right now geographically inside Ukraine. But its current aggression is a logical continuation of Putin’s war in Syria, its aggression against Georgia, its Libya encroachment and other African countries, its outreach to traditional and new allies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.”

The debate also addressed the disinformation campaign of unprecedented scale launched by Russia and its allies since the beginning of the war, and how it has affected people’s perception of the war on Ukraine in the region.

“When on February 24, 2022 Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in addition to bombs falling on Ukrainian cities, an unprecedented scale of information warfare started and rapidly covered almost the entire globe," H.E. Ambassador of Poland to Jordan, Lucjan Karpinski, said at the event. “Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, where Russian disinformation operates particularly vigorously, the perception of the Russian aggression on Ukraine and the real responsibility for its start is heavily distorted.”

For his part, Luis Miguel Bueno, EU Arabic Spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa, emphasized the European Union’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the Russian aggression on food systems worldwide. “The European Union is closely working with its international and regional partners to mitigate the impact of the Russian aggression on food systems of countries that were mostly affected. Ukraine was and remains a primary source of food security.”  

The European Union responded to the food crises triggered by the Russian aggression on Ukraine, by creating a regional “Food and Resilience Facility” worth €225 million to mitigate the impact of the rising prices of food and commodities in the Southern Neighbourhood partners, including Jordan.

In response to Russia's actions, the EU continues to support the tireless efforts of the United Nations and Türkiye to resume the Black Sea Grain Initiative. To mitigate the consequences of Russia's termination of the initiative, the EU is also strengthening Solidarity Lanes as alternative routes for Ukrainian agricultural exports to reach global markets through its territories. These lanes have allowed the export of over 41 million tonnes of Ukraine's agricultural goods so far, and the EU is working to increase this capacity.

Oraib Al Rantawi, Director General of Al Quds Center for Political Studies and political analyst, spoke about the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the region's politics, stating: “In addition to its impact of increasing the severity of economic and social crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the war in Ukraine has brought about a visible change in the power dynamics between regional states.”

While Iliya Kusa, Kyiv-based analyst of international relations at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, urged Ukraine and the West to strengthen their alliances and cooperation with the countries of the Middle East for additional support and to counter potential Russian influence in the region. "Russia is instrumentalizing the Middle East to wage its total war. The West should step up its presence and cooperation with MENA countries."

For further information:

Dina Al Wakeel

European Union Delegation to Jordan’s Press and Information Officer

Dina.al-wakeel@eeas.europa.eu