The EU's most important tasks at the moment are to ensure the export of Ukrainian grain and to diversify energy sources, to which Croatia is willing to contribute, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said in Brussels on Monday.

“The Russian aggression on Ukraine is, unfortunately, still the main topic of our discussions and we must continue to assist Ukraine, while strengthening our resilience at the same time. It’s key to diversify energy sources and make sure that Ukrainian grain is delivered to the countries which need it,” he said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

The EU High Representative Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell said the continuation of Ukrainian grain exports was “a matter of life and death” for “tens of thousands of people” and that he hoped “for an agreement this week to unblock Odessa and other Ukrainian ports.”

“The lives of thousands, no, tens of thousands of people depend on it,” he said about negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN in an attempt to find a way to unblock Odessa.

Grlic-Radman said Croatia could help both in energy diversification with its LNG terminal and in the export of Ukrainian grain via its Adriatic ports.

He went on to say that the EU must intensify its engagement in the Western Balkans and that it was key to reach an agreement on “a high-quality electoral reform” in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that it could come closer to candidate status.

The foreign ministers will also talk about the Commission’s proposal of a new set of measures to maintain and increase the effectiveness of the previous six sets of EU sanctions against Russia.