Borrell: Russia responsible for shortages in international trade in grains

Russia, which has unleashed the unprovoked war against Ukraine, is fully responsible for shortages in international trade in grains and the related global food security threats.

“Wars of aggression cannot be permitted. EU sanctions target Russia’s capacity to continue with the war. They do not target wheat.  Agriculture products and their transport are explicitly excluded. Russia’s ongoing blockade of Ukraine’s ports, is preventing the export of tons of grain, like corn and wheat, currently trapped in Ukraine, one of the main world producers,” Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, posted on Twitter.

As he noted, Russia is directly responsible for any shortages in international trade in grains, and instead of ending its aggression, is actively seeking to transfer responsibility on international sanctions, which is disinformation.

“The EU will continue to show its full solidarity with countries around the world in addressing the war consequences. President Putin needs to end his war against Ukraine. Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be restored. This is in the interest of the entire international community. We #StandwithUkraine,” Borrell stressed.

On February 24, Russia launched the full-scale war against Ukraine. As a result of the Russian aggression and blockade, more than 20 million tonnes of grain for export remain stuck in Ukrainian ports. This has posed a threat of global hunger as almost half of all supplies within the UN World Food Programme account for Ukrainian grain.

In response to the crisis, the EU created so-called Solidarity Lanes on the EU-Ukraine border to remove administrative barriers and export Ukrainian grain to the EU, and then – through the ports of Poland and Romania – to the world market. At the same time, EU representatives expressed support for UN efforts to provide humanitarian corridors for the transportation of Ukrainian grain by ships across the Black Sea.

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