European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday called for talks with Moscow on unlocking wheat exports that are trapped in Ukraine as a result of a Russian sea blockade.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week accused Russia of using food as a weapon by holding “hostage” supplies for not just Ukrainians, but also millions of people around the world. Moscow rejects this allegation.
“The most important (thing) is to deblock the Black Sea. This is a call on Russia,” von der Leyen told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
Von der Leyen, who is president of the European Union’s executive, said a food crisis was approaching at full speed and some sort of dialogue with Moscow was needed to unlock 20 million tons of wheat stuck in Ukraine.
“It cannot be in Russia’s interest that, because of Russia, people are dying of hunger in the world,” she said, adding that a solution to create food corridors needed to be found.
“I think we should first of all look at the dialogue with Russia, whether there is not an agreement that this wheat gets out of Ukraine”, the European Commission head said.
Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil.
Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus, which has backed Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, account for more than 40% of global exports of potash, a key crop nutrient.
Von der Leyen said the European Union should also step up its own production, making it easier for farmers to have a second crop or to increase wheat production.
