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The Russian blockade of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain is a “real war crime,” says EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
“It is unimaginable, it can not be imagined that millions of tons of wheat remain trapped in Ukraine, while in the rest of the world people suffer from hunger.”said Borrell according to the BBC.
“We call on Russia to unblock the ports.”
EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the crisis.
Western countries have urged Russia to stop blocking Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and allow large grain depots to reach world markets.
The blockade has sparked warnings that tens of millions of people are at risk of starvation and that this has led to rising food prices.
Borrell said Russia’s war against Ukraine has had a detrimental impact worldwide, which can be evidenced through food and energy prices.
At a news conference after the meeting, he said that Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian wheat exports was “a deliberate attempt to create world hunger” and put additional pressure on the EU and Ukraine.
According to Borrell, EU foreign ministers will contact their counterparts across the African continent regarding sanctions against Russia.
He dismissed Russia’s claim that the current food crisis is the result of EU sanctions, adding that EU sanctions do not prohibit non-EU countries from engaging in food trade practices with Russia or other countries. .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was engaged in “complex negotiations” to free its ports from the Russian blockade.
Zelensky said the global grain crisis will last as long as Russia’s war.
He added that countries in the African Union were hostages of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting in Luxembourg, Borrell said: “This is a real war crime, so I can not imagine it lasting much longer.
He said Russia should be held “responsible” if it continued to block the export of vital grain from Ukraine.
The 27-nation bloc refutes Russia’s claims that rising prices and food shortages in the Middle East and Africa are a consequence of EU sanctions imposed on Ukraine.
Borrell added: “I want to insist that it is not European sanctions that are creating this crisis – our sanctions are not about food, they are not about garbage.
“The problem comes from the Russian blockade of Ukrainian cereals.”
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said “Russia must stop playing with global hunger” as it seeks influence in the West.
“Leaving blocked cereals is dangerous for stability in the world”she said.
The head of the Polish prime minister’s office, Michal Dworczyk, will speak with Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov about changes that will speed up truck controls at the Polish-Ukrainian border to help export grain from Ukraine.
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