The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, calls for solidarity and multilateralism among G20 countries in an attempt to stem the looming global food crisis, as he calls on Russia, which he holds solely responsible for the repercussions on the most vulnerable third countries, to end the war in Ukraine.
“The crisis is entirely due to Russia’s actions: it has invaded a breadbasket of the world and turned the Black Sea shipping lanes into a war zone. There is an absolute urgency to act”, he said on 8 July in Bali, at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, in a speech that was fully in line with the position of European leaders (see EUROPE 12979/3).
Pointing out that 50 million tonnes of the upcoming Ukrainian crop will be added to the 20 million tonnes still blocked in the Black Sea, he warned that “freeing up storage capacity is becoming increasingly urgent”.
Of the many vulnerable countries that rely heavily on grain and fertiliser from Russia and Ukraine, “Africa is the most severely affected region”, he said.
Outlining the EU’s four lines of action - financial “solidarity”; exporting Ukrainian grain through alternative routes, “a slow and costly solution”; supporting the strengthening of local agricultural production; and “multilateralism” - he called on all G20 countries to “commit to anchoring the response (to the food crisis) in the multilateral system and to establishing links with the UN Global Crisis Response Group”.
According to Mr Borrell, “an even faster response is in the hands of one man: President Putin, who should stop this senseless war and avoid a global food and energy calamity”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)