After reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis once again prayed for suffering Ukraine, calling for the restoration of the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow food to be transported safely.
(Vatican News Network) “We want to keep praying for the suffering Ukraine, where the war destroyed everything, including food”. After reciting the Angelus at the window of the study window of the Apostolic Building on Sunday, July 30, Pope Francis issued the above-mentioned sad appeal to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “This is a serious offense to God, because the grain is a part of his grace to feed mankind,” he said.
“The cries of millions of hungry brothers and sisters reach heaven,” said the Pope. He then appealed to “my brethren, the authorities of the Russian Federation, to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative so that grain can be transported safely”.
Guterres: Food crisis affects everyone, especially poor countries
On the same day, UN Secretary-General Guterres criticized the decision of the Russian Federation to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (Black Sea Initiative) in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. The deal, brokered by the United Nations, will enable the safe export of more than 33 million tons of grain and other food products to 45 countries on thousands of ships. Guterres stated: “According to economic laws, when hundreds of millions of tons of grain disappear from the market, this will cause prices to rise, higher than the normal price of Ukrainian grain entering the international market. The rise in prices will endanger everyone, especially developing countries. countries and middle-income, even vulnerable populations in developed countries.”
UN determined to promote dialogue
Nevertheless, the Secretary-General of the United Nations stated decisively to continue efforts “to facilitate unimpeded access to global markets for food and fertilizers, whether from Ukraine or the Russian Federation. We will decisively engage with all parties involved, namely Turkey, Ukraine , Russia, and other important countries in the global market, to rebuild the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Even if I am not at all optimistic about a quick end to this conflict, we will continue to find ways to be useful, to provide a platform for dialogue in this regard, minimize human suffering.”
“Many groups are one step away from food insecurity and even famine, and this dire picture has only grown bleaker with the termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative by the Russian Federation. Both the Russian Federation and Ukraine are global food Historically, the two countries exported about 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of the world’s corn export, and more than half of the world’s sunflower oil export.”
Putin: Peace has nothing to do with grain deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin sees no connection between the peace package in Ukraine and the agreement to export grain via the Black Sea. “It has nothing to do with anything else,” he told a news conference at a summit with African nations in St. Petersburg. However, according to international media, African leaders have also expressed concern, calling for the resumption of the agreement on the transit of grain through the Black Sea. “The interruption of energy and food supplies must stop immediately. The Grains Agreement must be extended for the benefit of the peoples of the world, especially the people of Africa,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission. He stressed that the war in Ukraine “must end, and it can only end with justice and reason.”
Link URL:www.vaticannews.cn
#Pope #food #crisis #Cries #hungry #people #reach #heaven #Vatican #News
2023-07-31 10:43:13
