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UN to hold key talks on food security: Polish envoy

20.06.2022 11:15
The United Nations is set to discuss ways to unblock Ukrainian grain exports to prevent a global famine, Poland’s ambassador to the UN has said.
Krzysztof Szczerski.
Krzysztof Szczerski.PAP/EPA/Jason Szenes

Krzysztof Szczerski revealed the plan in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on Monday.

“The war in Ukraine is being discussed at the UN in the context of a potential famine around the world,” Szczerski said.

“It’s the number one issue because the problem could be global in scope,” he added.

Agreement on grain exports this week?

Szczerski told Polish Radio that “an agreement is expected to be signed this week under the auspices of the UN to export Ukrainian, but also Russian, grain through the Black Sea.” 

He added that it was vital to lift a Russian blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, especially Odessa, Polish state news agency PAP reported. 

Szczerski said that there was a lack of sufficient infrastructure to transport much of Ukraine’s grain by road, which "underlined the need for new investment" in the Three Seas region.

“The bulk of the exports, guaranteed and guarded by the UN, should go through unblocked Black Sea ports,” he argued.

Szczerski warned that Russia was “seeking to foment panic and anti-Ukrainian sentiment” around the globe by “spreading fear of famine allegedly caused by Ukraine.” 

“The world really is afraid of the combination of these three terrible factors: the effects of the pandemic, the effects of famine and the effects of the war,” Szczerski told Polish Radio.

Global role of Ukrainian grain

Ukraine is a leading global exporter of grain, according to experts.

Due to the war and the Russian blockade of Black Sea ports, it has been unable to export its harvest to the world. 

Earlier this month, the United Nations warned that the number of people suffering from acute hunger could rise by 47 million worldwide if the war in Ukraine continued.

Monday is day 117 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAPpolskieradio24.pl