Ensuring access of the Ukrainian grain blocked by Russian aggression to the market is now one of the main focuses of the United States, as well as allies, partners and international organizations.
Source: US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried
“Food security is not a new problem.”
She reminded us that this issue was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, global climate change and now – by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“It is Russia’s actions that deepen the problem of food security,” Donfried said.
She stressed that the Biden administration takes it “very seriously”, but said that no simple solutions have been found so far.
“So, we are considering serious opportunities. One of the options is to secure the shipment (cargo ships – ed.) across the Black Sea. This is an attractive option in terms of volume – in this way a lot of grain can be exported but it also involves problems – security challenges, and commercial problems,” said the Assistant Secretary of State.
According to her, discussions on this issue are ongoing. The EU is also closely involved in the process and is considering ways to export more grain by land transport.
“So, this is an incredibly serious problem that we are focusing on – together with our allies, partners, the UN, the EU. But there are no easy solutions at the moment.”
See also: Britain calls to investigate the steal of Ukrainian grain by Russia
