Germany, U.S. working to counter Russia's 'cynical grain war'
STORY: "As G7 partners, we are watching together with our international friends how Russia, with its cynical grain war, is purposefully causing food prices to explode in order to destabilize entire countries," she said.
Russia's war against Ukraine, not Western sanctions, will add another 40 or 50 million more people to the ranks of the hungry, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"There is no reason other than Russia's blockade of Ukraine and Russia's refusal in many cases to export its own grain for political reasons," he said at a joint news conference.
Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley, and two-thirds of the world's export of sunflower oil used for cooking. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 90% of the grains and sunflower oil were shipped out through Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea - a route now disrupted.
