New Zealand tells US of opposition to cluster bombs after promised Ukraine delivery

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he will tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy​ of New Zealand’s opposition to cluster bombs if the pair meet this week.

The United States promised to deliver the widely-condemned munitions to Kyiv.

Hipkins arrived in Brussels, Belgium, overnight Sunday (NZT), for the first leg in a European trip that will include attending a summit of Nato leaders, where Hipkins hopes to meet Zelenskyy.

As Hipkins travelled on Saturday, US President Joe Biden confirmed the US would send cluster munitions to Ukraine to aid the country’s counter-offensive against a Russian invasion, a decision Biden described as “difficult”.

Cluster munitions, which disperse numerous bomblets that spread across a wide area once dropped, have been used by both Russia and Ukraine, and are wanted by Kyiv to shell Russian trenches on the frontline.

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However, cluster munitions are notorious for collateral damage. Grenade-sized bomblets do not always detonate and remain a danger to civilians – particularly children – if they are not cleared.

“We don’t support the use of cluster munitions. They’re indiscriminate, they cause huge damage to innocent people, potentially, and they can have a long-lasting effect as well,” Hipkins said.

New Zealand was one of six countries to push for the creation of an international convention on banning cluster munitions, and among the 123 countries to join the convention are Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, much of Europe and Africa.

“We’ve expressed to the US through diplomatic channels our opposition to the use of cluster munitions in the war in Ukraine,” Hipkin said.

He said the use of cluster munitions may be discussed at the Nato summit, as some alliance members opposed their use.

Hipkins wasn’t whether he would get a chance to speak to Biden. If he had a “longer conversation” with the president, he said he would raise the cluster munition issue.

In the coming day, Hipkins would meet EU President Ursula von der Leyen and attend the signing of the NZ-EU free trade deal.

He would then travel to Stockholm, Sweden, for a day, before heading to Vilnius, Lithuania, for the Nato summit.

Hipkins was travelling to Sweden because the country was a major backer of New Zealand getting a free trade agreement with the union.

Trade Minister Damien O’Connor, also in Brussels to sign the agreement, said Sweden “stood up for us” and it was “just fair” to thank the country for this.

“Probably 10 years ago there would have been many people say, ‘You could never have a free trade agreement with the EU’.

“Through, you know, a lot of hard work, some good diplomacy, and some good leadership at political levels, we’ve managed to get a free trade agreement.”

The agreement, which will provide many New Zealand products tariff-free access to the EU market, was not expected to come into effect until next year, after it has been consented by the EU Parliament and ratified by the New Zealand Parliament.