Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union has renewed its warning of food and grain shortages in the world and the European Union's top foreign policy coordinator, Josep Borrell, has requested the support of EU countries to urge Moscow to resume the grain export initiative from Ukraine and stop its attacks on farming infrastructure in that country, the newspaper said. Spanish "Larathon".
"If the international community speaks with a clear and unified voice, Russia can reconsider and resume its participation in this vital initiative," Borrell said of the agreement to export grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea in a message.
The head of European diplomacy asked for support to urge Russia to return to negotiations and refrain from targeting Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure.
Borrell also denounced in the speech that, apart from withdrawing from the initiative, Moscow had "destroyed Ukraine's grain storage facilities and port infrastructure with daily targeted attacks for more than a week, not only in the Black Sea, but also on the Danube".
He said the attacks had "negative effects" by raising the cost of living, especially for people in import-dependent countries. "This is completely unacceptable and should be strongly condemned by the international community," he said.
Borrell warned that the rise in wheat and corn prices has already begun, and warned of the possibility of continued volatility in food prices in the future.
According to the head of European diplomacy, the main beneficiary of the blockade of the initiative is Russia and its agricultural sector. In addition, Moscow was criticized for communicating with "weak countries with bilateral offers to ship grain at reduced prices, pretending to solve a problem it created itself."
"It is a cynical policy to deliberately weaponize food to create new dependencies by exacerbating global economic vulnerability and food insecurity," Borrell said.
In addition, the EU plans to increase financial support to countries and people most in need by €18 billion to ensure food security until 2024, with a focus on the most vulnerable regions.
Two weeks ago, the foreign ministers of the European Union held discussions on [Russian aggression] against Ukraine. With the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba. On the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels at the time, Josep Borrell, European foreign policy coordinator, said, "Russia bombed and destroyed all the port infrastructure in Odessa [and other coastal cities] and granaries - more than 60,000 tons of grain were burned. So they didn't just withdraw from the grain agreement, from Yes [stop] the export of grain from Ukraine, but they are burning the grain. Intense air attacks continue on Odessa port and infrastructure which cause not only civilian casualties, but great destruction to the grain stocks there. This will lead to a huge food crisis in the world. If it is not stopped Only these grains but [also] are destroyed, it means that there will be a shortage of food and grains in the world.