U.S. very focused on access to grain from Ukraine – Donfried

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said this in response to a question from an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Food security is not a new issue," she said.

She recalled that this issue had been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, global climate change and now by the Russian war in Ukraine.

"It is Russian actions that are exacerbating the food security problem," Donfried said.

She said that it is something the Biden administration takes "very seriously," but added that no easy solutions have been found so far.

"So we are looking at a series of possibilities. One of the options could be some way of allowing shipments through the Black Sea. That’s an attractive option because in terms of quantity - you can get very significant amounts of grain out, but it is fraught with challenges - security challenges and commercial challenges," Donfried said.

According to her, conversations on this issue are ongoing. The EU is also being very engaged in the process and is thinking about whether there are ways to export more grain over land.

"So, this is an incredibly serious issue. We are very focused on it together with our allies, partners, the UN, the EU. But there are no easy answers,” she said.

Earlier reports said that Russia had blocked all ports and trade routes through which Ukrainian grain was exported. About 20 million tonnes of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine.