The withdrawal of Russia from the agreement that gave outlet to Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea leads the world to the serious risk of aggravating the food crisis already suffered by countries in the Horn of Africa or others such as Afghanistan. The accusation appears in a letter that the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, has sent to the G-20 and developing countries asking for “support to urge Russia to return to negotiations, as well as to stop attacks on Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure,” according to the text. Borrell also informs the foreign ministers of these States that Europe is going to raise its contribution to fight hunger in the most vulnerable countries to “18,000 million euros until 2024.”
From the first moment Russia invaded Ukraine, the world was faced with a problem: food security. Ukraine is often described as the granary of Europe – and of much of the world – as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cereals. Hence, in the first months of the war, a good part of the diplomatic efforts were focused on securing an agreement with Russia that would allow the unblocking of the departure of ships with grain from Ukrainian ports. The pact entered into force about a year ago, but on July 17, Moscow withdrew from it. In addition, the Kremlin has been attacking kyiv’s agricultural infrastructure ever since. “This decision was widely condemned at the UN and by governments around the world, including the European Union, for aggravating the global food crisis, putting hundreds of millions of vulnerable people at risk,” laments the high representative in the letter to the that EL PAÍS has had access to.
“In an immediate reaction to Russia’s decision to block the deal and bomb ports, wheat and corn prices have risen to their highest prices since the beginning of the Russian aggression, growing by almost 9% on July 19 alone and 8%, respectively”, points out Borrell, who adds that this situation will allow Moscow to further increase its exports “by severely limiting the export capacity of its main competitor”.
The letter is dated July 31, a few days after the Russia-Africa summit was held in St. Petersburg, in which Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin promised free shipping of between 25,000 and 50,000 tons of grain to the continent. “This is a cynical policy of using food as a weapon to create new dependencies and exacerbate economic vulnerabilities and global food insecurity,” accuses Brussels.
In the fight for the story that the EU maintains with Moscow in what is now called the Global South, Brussels puts on the table various data that especially affect a continent in which Russian propaganda has penetrated deeply. “Through the agreement, Ukraine contributed half of the wheat from the World Hunger Program and 80% of this wheat has gone in support of humanitarian operations in many food insecure countries such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan. and Yemen”, the text develops, adding that without the Black Sea route the gap between food needs and available resources will increase when the world faces an “unprecedented food crisis”. “Without the agreement, all of this will be at risk,” he warns.
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The spokesman for the Russian government, Dimitri Peskov, has responded to these accusations: “This is not the case at all. Russia has always been and remains a reliable supplier, despite known problems, a reliable supplier. Russia fulfills all its obligations.”
Agricultural export, without European sanctions
Borrell also tries to refute one of the stories that have spread the most outside the EU about the sanctions imposed by the Twenty-seven: they have hindered the sale of Russian grain and fertilizers and magnified the problem of hunger in the world. “There are no sanctions on these exports,” he insists to readers who are more sensitive to this accusation. He explains to them that Brussels has given guidelines on these exports to third parties by EU operators and through the community territory. “In December, we introduced a legislative exception that authorizes transactions, even with sanctioned persons, when they refer to agricultural trade,” he recalls, adding that there are also payment mechanisms to Moscow for these sales articulated by the EU and the UN outside the international payment system “to address bottlenecks and facilitate global access to food and fertilizer from Russia.”
For Borrell, who is very concerned with taking away Russia’s speech about the invasion of Ukraine where the European position is not viewed favorably, unlocking the agreement also involves that battle. Hence, when he sends a copy of his letter to the foreign ministers of the EU countries, he attaches a short text in which he reminds them that “it is key to continue working together to strengthen the EU’s strategic communication in third countries on global food security, especially in view of the UN General Assembly next September”.
One of the opportunities that Brussels and the Twenty-seven will have to delve into this line that Borrell proposes will come at the meeting that some 40 countries are going to hold in Saudi Arabia, in the city of Jeddah, to seek formulas that open a path towards peace in Ukraine. Community sources pointed out this Thursday that the presence of Brazil, India and Turkey will be important at this meeting, since they had already been invited to the previous meeting, in Copenhagen, and then did not attend.
The same sources showed their confidence that in this meeting the global summit for peace in Ukraine, which kyiv would like to hold this year, could come to fruition. In Jeddah, a dozen topics will also be discussed on how to end the open war conflict in Europe: radiation and nuclear safety, food safety, energy security, prisoner exchange, restoration of Ukrainian territorial integrity, withdrawal of troops Russian, restoration of peace or economy and environment.
One of the doubts is whether or not there will be a statement at the end of the meeting. The answer to this question will depend on how the meeting goes, in which Saudi Arabia is expected to play a leading role, as Denmark did in the previous meeting.
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