The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal accused Russia on Thursday of using hunger as a weapon, which plagues several countries, still dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Russia is using completely unacceptable and inhumane tactics typical of medieval times and is using famine as a weapon not only in Ukraine, but is spreading that famine to many other countries in the world, which is reprehensible and must be stopped immediately,” he said. Francisco André to the Portuguese Agency.
At the end of the inaugural session of the meeting of the EU-ACP (European Union-Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) Follow-up Committee, made up of members of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) of the EU, the official considered that this meeting has “vital importance”.
“The effects of Russian aggression [à Ucrânia] go far beyond Europe“, he said, referring to the “serious disturbances that the conflict is causing in the agri-food production and supply chains, further affecting those who already knew the greatest crises” due to the pandemic.
For Francisco André, diplomatic work is crucial at this time, especially when it comes to a group the size of the EU-ACP, which has 1,500 million people, most of them from the States of the Organization of the United Nations (UN).
“We demand that Russia put an end to this conflict, that it immediately end its invasion of Ukraine, that those responsible for these barbaric acts can be brought to justice and that we can all work quickly to find solutions that prevent those countries that were already the most affected by the pandemic crisis that we have just experienced, from being further hit with even more serious consequences, because it is in these countries where the consequences are most serious”, said.
The Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs considers that “Russia’s decision to block, to attack agri-food production facilities and structures is causing this food emergency problem that we are experiencing a little around the world.”
Host of this Thursday’s meeting, the head of the European Commission Representation in Lisbon, Sofia Moreira de Sousa, told Lusa that “the word association is the key word”.
“With the global challenges, we have to work together”, he defended, considering the association (EU-ACP) as “extremely important”, since it allows “an extremely urgent dialogue, the exchange of visions and solutions”.
“With this dialogue, there are financial and political instruments that allow these solutions to be applied. Then, the priority areas of work were identified —fight against climate change and poverty— it is necessary to channel the instruments to implement the solutions”, said.
And he stressed: “We cannot get there alone. The solutions pass through this dialogue and the involvement of all”.
Regarding the war, Sofia Moreira de Sousa considered that “principles of international law and universal principles are questioned” and that it is necessary “to have an answer to what is happening.”
The ambassador listed other consequences of the conflict such as “the interruption of energy and food chains.”
“We have to work together, because there are countries that have conditions, even for the production of energy and food resources, and that have to sit down at the table and seek solutions for all these consequences that we are seeing today and others that do not. however, I have been able to measure the amplitude,” he added.
For the diplomat, “the consequences of the war go far beyond the European continent“.
The EU-ACP Monitoring Committee is responsible for organizing various activities with ACP economic and social interest groups and is led by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
It is also responsible for guiding relations and activities at the pan-African level (Africa-EU economic and social interest group meetings and relations with the Economic, Social and Cultural Committee of the African Union).
Source: Observadora
