EU makes serious accusations against Russia for stopping the grain agreement
The European Union has condemned Russia’s withdrawal from the international grain agreement. “With this decision, Russia is further exacerbating the global food security crisis it caused by its war of aggression against Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian seaports,” Foreign Policy Representative Josep Borrell said on Monday evening on behalf of member states. Russia must lift the illegal blockade of Ukrainian ports and allow free shipping on the Black Sea.
The Kremlin suspended the year-old agreement on exporting Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea on Monday. It officially expired a little later on Monday evening. Since the summer of last year, the agreement has enabled Ukraine to sell more than 30 million tons of grain by sea to other countries, despite the Russian war of aggression. Even during the war, Ukraine reportedly remained the World Food Program’s (WFP) top wheat supplier in 2022, supplying more than half of WFP’s global wheat procurement.
“The EU urges Russia to reconsider its decision and resume implementation of the Black Sea Grains Initiative without delay,” Borrell said. By terminating the agreements, Russia is single-handedly blocking one of Ukraine’s most important grain export routes for human consumption. Moscow alone is responsible for disrupting global grain supplies and raising food prices around the world. “Russia continues to use food as a weapon.”