Wed 22 June 2022:

On Tuesday, the African Union’s top official said, that It is critical for Africa that grains stranded in Ukraine can be exported out of the country,

“Yesterday, we listened to the president of Ukraine. What we want is, first, peace and stability and then the possibility to free trade on grains. It is very important for us,” Moussa Faki Mahamat said.

“The response we got so far is positive,” said Faki, citing a video conference he held on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky and African Union chairman Macky Sall.

“This war may seem very distant to you and your countries. But, catastrophically rising food prices have already brought it home to millions of African families, as well as to many in Asia, Europe, Latin America,” he told the African Union’s Bureau of the Assembly.

Shipments out of Ukraine, one of the world’s top wheat suppliers, have stalled since Russia began its war on the country on Feb. 24.

Africa is a hostage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Africa “a hostage” of Russia’s war during an address to the African Union (AU) on Monday.

Russia’s invasion, and its blockade of Ukraine’s grain exports, have sparked grain and fertiliser shortages and put millions of people at risk of hunger.

The chair of the AU commission said there was an “urgent need for dialogue” to restore global stability.

Western countries have urged Russia to release Ukraine’s vast grain stores.

The blockade has sent food prices soaring.

“Africa is actually a hostage… of those who unleashed war against our state”, Mr Zelensky said in his speech.

Also, a major grain producer, Russia, denies responsibility for the food crisis, blaming it on Western sanctions.

African countries have been divided in their response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. In March, 17 African countries abstained in a UN vote to condemn the invasion.

According to the African Union, Western sanctions on Russia, in particular its exclusion from the international payment mechanism SWIFT, is preventing some member countries from buying food products.

The EU has defended its sanctions, saying they do not target food and fertilizers.
Africa, home to 1.3 billion people, has become a “collateral victim” of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, further denting the continent’s ability to fulfill its “enormous promise and potential,” top officials of the African Union and UN have said.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict that escalated into a war on Feb. 24 caused the largest refugee influx ever seen since WWII, according to analysts while it disrupts the global gain supply chain that many fear may entail widespread hunger, particularly in the developing countries.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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