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The G7 countries promised on Saturday to use their economic might to tackle global food shortages resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign ministers from the club of rich democracies said Russia was blocking grain exports from Ukrainian ports, turning the war between two major agricultural producers into a potential global food crisis.
In a statement after three days of talks in Germany, they said their countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the US, Canada and Japan — would “reinforce our contributions” to aid providers such as the World Food Programme.
They said the G7 would launch a dedicated global food security alliance at a meeting of the group’s development ministers this month, and work to unblock exports from Ukraine’s war-torn Black Sea ports.
Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister chairing the G7 talks, accused Russia of deliberately engineering a food crisis to undermine international solidarity over the war in Ukraine.
“We cannot be naive. This is not collateral damage. It is a consciously chosen instrument in a hybrid war,” said Ms Baerbock, who said exports of millions of tonnes of grain could begin tomorrow if Russia permitted it.
She told a post-summit press conference that humanitarian aid would quickly be made available to the most vulnerable countries and regions so that the food crisis could at least be eased.
“This is the Russian president’s war, but we have a global responsibility,” said Ms Baerbock, who accused Moscow of falsely claiming that western sanctions were to blame for food shortages.
The WFP recently said that 47 million people would be thrown into acute hunger if the fallout from the war in Ukraine is not addressed, with Sub-Saharan Africa at particular risk. It said Ukrainian exports typically feed about 400 million people.
Food shortages have also reached western supermarkets, with sunflower oil being rationed because of the supply shortfall from Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that merchant traffic in the port of Odesa, recently hit by Russian missiles, had ground to a halt for the first time in decades.
The G7 ministers called for the establishment of “solidarity lanes” to allow grain to be exported by other routes, an idea floated this week by the European Union.
Exporting food over land is complicated because Ukrainian railway carriages are not compatible with most of the EU’s rail wagons, and thousands of wagons and lorries are waiting for clearance on the Ukrainian side.
The G7, which met in north Germany with the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Moldova as guests, said food insecurity was being worsened by rising food and fuel prices which have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
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Russian Navy logistics support ship the 'Vsevolod Bobrov', pictured off Istanbul in January, has reportedly caught fire after a Ukrainian airstrike in the Black Sea. Reuters -
A mother and child who fled Ukraine arrive back in Kyiv from Poland. The daily number returning has exceeded those leaving for the first time since the February invasion. AFP -
A Ukrainian tank - with a soldier in it - is carried by a transporter near Bakhmut. AFP -
A metro station used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
Rocket trails in the sky over Pylypchatyne, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Ukraine is held in Geneva, Switzerland. AFP -
Burnt vehicles and the remains of what appears to be a makeshift bridge across the Siverskyi Donets River in eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Protesters outside a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the war in Ukraine, in Geneva. Inside, Ukrainians lambasted the 'sheer horror' and 'pure evil' being inflicted on their country by Russian forces. AFP -
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on economic issues via a video link in Moscow. AFP -
An explosion at the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Players walk onto the pitch before a benefit football match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the national team of Ukraine at Borussia-Park in Moenchengladbach, Germany. EPA -
Russian service members atop an armoured vehicle in Mariupol. Reuters -
The Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine perform at the Eurovision Village in Turin, Italy. AP Photo -
Borussia Moenchengladbach fans and Ukraine supporters stand united ahead of the benefit football match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the national team of Ukraine. EPA -
Children gather at a playground in Mariupol. Reuters -
Three Ukrainian policemen stand at an explosion site in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
The Iron Spear 2022 military exercise led by Nato-enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Adazi, Latvia, on May 11. Reuters / Ints Kalnins -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto shake hands in Helsinki, Finland, after signing a declaration between the UK and Finland to deepen their defence and security co-operation. Reuters -
Russian paratroopers go on the attack in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. EPA
“This is having devastating consequences for some of the most vulnerable people and rising costs also make it harder for humanitarian and development agencies to deliver assistance to those in greatest need,” their statement said.
“We are determined to contribute additional resources to and support all relevant efforts that aim to ensure availability and accessibility of food.”
In the longer term, they said they would try to avoid such crises arising in future by reducing food waste, increasing their own food production and pushing for more sustainable agriculture around the world.
A broader statement on the war said the G7 powers would “never recognise” any attempt by Russia to redraw international borders by force, and promised to “further increase economic and political pressure on Russia”.
The countries said they would speed up efforts to rid Russian energy from their power grids. The EU, which attends G7 meetings, is currently locked in a political struggle over a proposed ban on Russian oil.
