INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia was accused before the UN Security Council on Tuesday of having caused a "global food crisis" and putting people at risk of "famine"
by starting the war in Ukraine, which serves as a breadbasket for Europe.Russian President Vladimir Putin "started this war
Vladimir Putin created this global food crisis
And he is the one who can stop it," United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said during a Security Council meeting devoted to
falls solely on Russia and on President Putin," she said.France's ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, furthered that "Russia's
aggression against Ukraine is increasing the risk of famine around the world" and that populations in developing countries would be the
first to be affected."Russia will no doubt try to make us believe that it is the sanctions adopted against it that are creating an imbalance
in the world security situation for food," de Riviere added.Moscow's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia indeed countered that potential
turbulence in the global food market was in fact caused by "the unbridled sanctions hysteria that the West has unleashed against
Russia."Sherman and the director of the World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley, reported that Ukraine and Russia, which are both major
cereal producers, represent 30% of world wheat exports, 20% for corn and 75% for sunflower oil.On Friday the European Union announced an
initiative to alleviate food shortages caused by the war
The EU and United States want a multilateral commitment against restrictions on the export of agricultural raw materials.UN Assistant
Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya said the conflict in Ukraine "threatens to make things even worse in the world's
biggest humanitarian crises, such as Afghanistan, Yemen, and in the Horn of Africa" where food insecurity is already a problem.
