The food crisis throughout the planet may be a reality in the near future. The warnings do not stop coming from different governments and institutions, which consider a priority normalize grain exports from Ukraine to avoid a catastrophe. An alarm that is explained by the four months of Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory. Now, from the European Union they are beginning to raise the tone in the face of what they define as a possible “global food calamity”. And they say that the only solution is to “stop the war and get Russian troops out of Ukraine.”
This notice to accelerate the work on the cereal that comes from Ukraine has been launched by the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell. This has shown his concern for a circumstance that has been marking the agenda for weeks. So they have urged increase pressure on Russia from all over the world to turn the situation around. A position that comes weeks after Brussels began to look for ways to unlock the arrival of raw materials.
To this end, Borrell has announced that in Europe they are “ready” to work together with the United Nations and other partners to try to fix the problem. “All those who want to limit the world food crisis should, above all, help us increase the pressure on Russia to stop its war of aggression,” he stressed in his text, published this Saturday.
[Cómo Putin y su guerra han creado la mayor crisis alimentaria desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial]
Although Borrell has recalled that the 27 they have not imposed sanctions to the Kremlin on issues related to the raw Materials, has stressed that they want to prevent these measures from making it even more difficult for ships to travel through the Black Sea to transport the grain. What he has denied at all times are Russia’s accusations against the community club, for which Vladimir Putin holds them responsible for this possible catastrophe.
“We must urgently allow Ukraine to export its grain through the Black Sea. We also see a ‘narrative battle’ over Russian exports of cereals and fertilizers. While our sanctions do not target these exports, we stand ready to work with the UN and our partners to prevent any unintended impact on global food security,” Borrell wrote in a blog post.
There is an ongoing “battle of narrative” about who is responsible for the global food crisis. While we are working with UN and other partners to avoid a wave of hunger, Russia bombs and offers cynical lies and disinformation.
Read my new blog post: https://t.co/1njvTZ6VWk pic.twitter.com/dlh6LDqxl8
– Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 18, 2022
According to the veteran Spanish politician, Russia uses its “propaganda machine” to ensure that “we are responsible for the food crisis.” “They’re nothing but cynical lieslike so many others that this machinery has been spreading for many years,” he added. Something that, as he pointed out, “was evident when Russia bombed the second largest grain silo in Ukraine in Mikolaiv.”
“That is the aim of the EU’s massive support for Ukraine and the restrictive measures we are applying with our allies against the Putin regime. However, we have never targeted Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports. EU sanctions do not prohibit Russia from exporting agricultural productspayment for said Russian exports or that seeds are provided, provided that the sanctioned persons or entities are not involved,” Borrell explained in his article.
[El plan de Putin para ahogar a Europa con el gas da ventaja a España en la negociación de precios con Argelia]
To this he has added that the restrictive measures of the Twenty-seven against Russia they also do not apply outside the territory of the community club. Therefore, “they do not create obligations for non-EU operators, unless the business is carried out, at least partially, within the European Union.” An explanation that is the answer to what he considers a “narrative battle”.
To end his presentation, Borrell revealed that they are “in close contact with the UN to study issues such as market circumvention and excessive compliance, which could affect purchases of Russian fertilizers or cereals“. “We are ready to discuss these issues through experts to identify specific obstacles, including possible difficulties in payments, and work to find solutions,” he said, although he has not specified whether this would mean a reduction in sanctions.
[La “doctrina Macron” o por qué negociar con Putin no es lo mismo que negociar con Hitler]
Leaders join the alarm
The seriousness of the situation was also warned this week by European leaders who visited the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, in kyiv. One of the most forceful was the French president, Emmanuel Macron. The French head of state “solemnly” asked Moscow “to accept that the UN organize the export of cereals“. The idea is that the Kremlin gives “all security guarantees” to ships transiting the Black Sea.
This line is the one followed by the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi. The head of the Italian government recalled that this catastrophe must be avoided given the dependence on cereal in many countries. Many of them, in the Middle East and Africa. “We need to create safe corridors with the utmost urgency for the safe transport of grain,” said Draghi.
Russia-Ukraine War
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