The United Nations is in close contact with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to restore grain exports from Ukraine to their old proportions to stem a global food crisis.
“I’m hopeful, but we still have a long way to go,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a United Nations food safety meeting.
Since the war in Ukraine, exports have been very difficult. Russia and Ukraine together account for a third of global grain exports. However, according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Russia is using hunger as a weapon of war by blocking grain exports from Ukraine. According to the German government, Russia is blocking the export of 25 million tons of grain from Ukraine, especially in Odessa.
“Russia is waging this war with another terrible and powerful weapon: hunger and deprivation. By blocking Ukrainian ports, destroying silos, streets, and railroads, Russia has unleashed a grain war and fueled a global food crisis,” said the United Nations secretary in New York.
Baerbock points out that Russia is deploying that “weapon” at a time when millions of people, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, are already threatened by hunger “from the devastating effects of the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, and conflicts raging in their communities.” own regions”.