The danger of a new wave of refugees in Europe, which will trigger the lack of food in North African countries due to the war in Ukraine, pointed out the leaders of the countries participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The international community accuses Putin of instrumentalizing food stocks by targeting Ukrainian production to cause global chaos.
Polish President Andrei Duda told the Economic Forum: “If there is a famine in North Africa, the whole of southern Europe will have a huge migration problem. “Today we need to focus on allowing Ukraine to export its grain.”
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenaccused Russia of “blackmail”.
In particular, he said: “In Russian-occupied Ukraine, the Kremlin army is seizing grain stocks and machinery (…) and Russian warships in the Black Sea are blocking Ukrainian ships full of wheat and sunflower seeds.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow have pushed up the price of cereals, sunflower oil, fertilizers and energy.
The Kremlin said Monday that the West was responsible for the global food crisis through tough sanctions.
Last week, the United Nations warned of a global food crisis that could plunge millions into starvation.
Guterres: Food insecurity has doubled in two years
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that global hunger is “at a new high”.
The number of people experiencing severe food insecurity has doubled in just two years, from 135 million before the pandemic to 276 million today, according to Guterres.
The Secretary General also said that the number of people living in conditions of absolute hunger has increased by more than 500% since 2016.
The war in Ukraine has exacerbated a pre-existing problem, as Russia and Ukraine produce huge quantities of cereal and cooking oils, as well as agricultural fertilizers.
Guterres confirmed that he had “intensive contacts” with Russia and other countries and “hoped” for an agreement to alleviate the problem, but acknowledged that “there is still a long way to go”. He also said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “strengthens and accelerates” the factors of food insecurity and global hunger.
An appeal to Putin
David Beasley, head of the United Nations World Food Program, warned that “the failure to open ports would be a declaration of war on global food security, leading to hunger and destabilization of nations, as well as mass migration.”
“It’s not just about Ukraine,” he said. “These are the poorest of the poor in the world who are on the brink of starvation as we speak. So I ask President Putin, if you have any heart, please open these ports… so that we can feed the poorest of the poor and prevent hunger, as we have done in the past. when the nations in this room are united. “
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