Germany, France warns of global food crisis due to Russia’s war on Ukraine

BERLIN

A global food crisis is on the horizon due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister warned on Friday.

In her opening speech at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of conducting a “hybrid war” and preventing grain exports from Ukrainian ports.

“Russia is not allowing millions of tons of grain to be exported. This is a big, big danger,” she said.

“And we can only see the tip of the iceberg, at the moment. We all know that if the climate crisis hits in summer around the world, the situation will get even worse,” she added.

Baerbock said the G7 of leading industrial nations has agreed to take up their responsibility and act fast to address this upcoming crisis.

Her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian also echoed concerns on the long-term consequences of the war particularly in the field of food security and urged that conversations at the international level must focus on the hike in food prices.

He was confident that the G7 will reach agreements on joint initiatives among the various actors to help avoid the consequences on the food supply of the Ukrainian crisis. “It is Russia which is causing the food crisis and we must try and curb the adverse effects,” he said.

Le Drian affirmed “strong unity among G7 members” to continue supporting Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty against Russia “until its victory.” As part of long-term support, the G7 will be meeting both Ukraine and Moldova's foreign ministers, and continue support initiatives in the military and financial fields.

He underlined that the G7 countries are not at war with Russia, and they are supporting “the one being attacked."

The top German diplomat is hosting the three-day meeting in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu are also attending the meeting on Friday as guests.

* Shweta Desai contributed to this report from Paris.