Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports “war crime” - Borrell

Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports “war crime” - Borrell

Ukrinform
Russia's efforts to block Ukraine from exporting millions of tonnes of its grain constitute a war crime, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said June 20.

That’s according to Ukrinform’s own correspondent.

"We call on Russia to deblockade the (Ukrainian - ed.) ports...It is inconceivable, one cannot imagine that millions of tonnes of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger," Borrell said, speaking to reporters in Luxembourg

"This is a real war crime, so I cannot imagine that this will last much longer," he said ahead of the EU foreign ministerial.

Read also: Trading platform set up in EU to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports

The war will have “dramatic” consequences for the whole world, the top diplomat stressed, voicing support for the efforts under the UN auspices to deblockade Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and trade navigation routes in the area.

Borrell also expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved in the near future.

Hunger must not be used as a weapon of war, Borrell stressed, adding that energy shortage and price hikes are due precisely to Russian aggression –not the sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Read also: Johnson predicts long war with Russia, offers West a plan to support Ukraine

The chief of European diplomacy underlined the fact that sanctions do not target food and fertilizer supplies so anyone willing to buy them from Russia is free to do so with no obstacles.

While citing and using any materials on the Internet, links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory. In addition, citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet. Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No. 270/96-VR of July 3, 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No. 2849-Х of March 31, 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice.

© 2015-2024 Ukrinform. All rights reserved.

Website design Studio Laconica

Extended searchHide extended search
By period:
-