Before the start of a new stage of the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukraine shipped 5 million tonnes of grain for export through the Black Sea ports every month. Now the Russian Federation ships are blocking the international vessels that arrived for grain in the Black Sea even before the war. But Ukraine cannot yet export cereals by other means than sea: it is expensive and requires new logistics routes.
The blockade of Ukraine by Russian troops could lead not only to starvation in the countries of North Africa that depend on Ukrainian grain, but to a global food crisis that could also affect European countries.
The destruction and theft of Ukrainian agricultural crops and the blockade of Ukrainian ports by the Russian fleet, which prevents the export of Ukrainian food products will lead to an increase in prices for agricultural products and aggravate the global food crisis.
The Parliamentary Assembly should analyse the possible global consequences of this blockade, propose measures to overcome the food crisis and seriously examine the possibility of restoring logistics routes and exports of Ukrainian agricultural products within political perspectives and dimensions.
In no case should one be as frivolous as to think that the coming crisis would not affect the countries of Europe, which are less dependent on the supply of Ukrainian grain than the countries of North Africa. One of the Russian Federation’s strategic goals is for a global food crisis to erupt in Europe.
In order to prevent the development and the dire consequences of a global food crisis and famine, the Council of Europe and the Assembly must engage in political negotiations to analyse the situation in a coordinated manner and find solutions.