By ruining the grain deal, Russia blackmails the world, affecting the lives of millions of Ukrainians and tens of millions more around the world, primarily in Africa and Asia, who face the threat of rising food prices and hunger, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said at the UN Security Council meeting in New York.
"Russia is killing the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia is blackmailing the world. The immediate outcome of Russia pulling out of the deal now will be that prices will again go up. Hurting those most vulnerable, primarily in Asia and Africa. Russia must stop playing hunger games with people around the world," he said.
He called on all UN Member States to firmly demand that Russia resume its participation in the deal and stop its hunger games. "Russia must keep politics out of global food security," he added.
Yesterday, President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the grain deal. He said the reason for the termination of the agreement was that "the part of the agreement concerning Russia has not been fulfilled".
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia's decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that hundreds of thousands of people around the world will lose basic food if Russia refuses to participate in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the Foreign Ministry to inquire the United Nations and Turkey whether they are ready to continue the grain initiative after Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the agreements.