US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called for an extension of the agreement to allow Ukrainian grain to transit the Black Sea, which is due to expire in mid-November.
Blinken noted that the agreement between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by the UN and Turkey, “should never have been necessary in the first place” but was necessary after Russia’s war blocked thousands of tons of grain in Ukrainian ports. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently suggested he might withdraw from the deal.
“This needs to continue, this needs to be renewed, this is urgent,” Blinken said at a Global Summit on Food Security held during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly.
“As you have heard from some of my colleagues, despite some misinformation that continues to come in from Moscow, that grains and other food products are getting where they need to go, to the countries most in need, predominantly in the Global South.” said Blinken.
The top US diplomat urged countries to do more to respond to the food insecurity crisis, noting that “action is crucial”.
“Some countries with the capacity to do more are among those that do less. That needs to change,” Blinken said, without naming names. “And no matter what countries have done so far, all countries are called upon to do more.”
He said President Joe Biden will announce new US assistance on Wednesday.
Blinken also called for strengthening global food systems to increase countries’ capacity to respond to the shocks and effects of the climate crisis. He said the US government will work with Congress over the next five years to invest more than $11 billion in this goal.
Source: CNN Brasil
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