Reuters
Published May 19, 2022 01:24PM ET
Updated May 20, 2022 06:46AM ET
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia on Thursday of using food as a weapon in Ukraine by holding "hostage" supplies for not just Ukrainians, but also millions around the world.
A senior official in Moscow later rejected the allegations, saying Russians were "not idiots" and would not export food while being subject to tough sanctions.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Blinken appealed to Russia to stop blockading Ukrainian ports.
"The Russian government seems to think that using food as a weapon will help accomplish what its invasion has not - to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people," he said.
"The food supply for millions of Ukrainians and millions more around the world has quite literally been held hostage."
The war in Ukraine has caused global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer to soar.
Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil, while Russia and Belarus - which has backed Moscow in its war in Ukraine - account for more than 40% of global exports of potash, a crop nutrient.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said Russians were skilled at producing food needed throughout the world under the right circumstances.
"Everything turns out to be illogical - on the one hand, crazy sanctions are introduced while on the other hand there are demands to supply food," wrote Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.
"Things don't work like that. We are not idiots."
Medvedev said producing harvests required people skilled in agriculture, as well as proper equipment and fertilizer.
"Russia knows how to do this," he wrote. "We have all the opportunities to ensure there is food in other countries, so that there are no crises. Just don't prevent us from working."
Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, dismissed as "absolutely false" any suggestion that Russia was to blame for a global food crisis that had been brewing for several years.
He accused Ukraine of holding foreign vessels in its ports and mining the waters.
"The decision to weaponize food is Moscow's and Moscow's alone," Blinken said.
"Some 20 million tons of grain sit unused in Ukrainian silos as global food supply dwindle (and) prices skyrocket."
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to broker a deal allowing Ukraine to resume food exports and revive Russian food and fertilizer production to world markets.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.