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The High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell, urged the Russian Federation on Friday to respect its commitments to allow the transit of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea “so that it reaches those who need it.”
The Russian Federation has used food as a weapon and has exacerbated world hunger. Thanks to the Istanbul Agreement, Ukraine can again supply grain. The Russian Federation must respect its commitments so that Ukraine’s exports continue to reach those who need them, especially in Africa,” Borrell wrote on his Twitter account.
Russia has been using food as a weapon and worsening hunger around the world
Thanks to the Istanbul agreement, Ukraine is again able to deliver grain to the @WFP
Russia must respect its commitments so that Ukraine's exports can continue to reach those in need, mostly in Africa https://t.co/9dZTbWElJL
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 12, 2022
On July 22, Ukraine and the Russian Federation signed an agreement in Istanbul to allow the export of Ukrainian cereals in the midst of the war, caused by the Russian invasion, and to facilitate the sale of Russian fertilizers.
Ukraine. How will grain export agreements work? Details of operations and possible risks
The agreement aims to facilitate exports from three Ukrainian ports: Odessa, Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk.
Until now, More than 370 thousand tons of agricultural products have already left.
A ship made the first shipment of wheat to Ukraine for food aid in Ethiopia, the first delivery of food to Africa under the UN-brokered plan to unlock grain held in that country.
First ship loaded with cereal leaves with food aid for Africa
For months, the fighting and the Russian blockade meant that the grain produced in Ukraine, known as the breadbasket of the world, stay in silosraising food prices and causing famines in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.
In recent days, several grain-laden ships have left Ukrainian ports under the new deal, except most of the shipments were animal feed and destined for Turkey or Western Europe.
Source: Observadora
