The U.S. accused Moscow of “weaponizing food” successful suspending its information successful a U.N.-brokered woody allowing atom shipments to permission Ukraine’s ports.
The Kremlin said connected Saturday that it was halting the statement for an “indefinite period,” citing an onslaught connected a basal successful occupied Crimea that Russia blamed connected Ukraine.
The atom export deal, designed to marque definite Ukrainian cultivation products tin scope planetary markets, is considered captious to planetary nutrient information fixed Ukraine’s relation arsenic a large shaper of foodstuffs.
“Any enactment by Russia to disrupt these captious atom exports is fundamentally a connection that radical and families astir the satellite should wage much for nutrient oregon spell hungry,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said successful a statement precocious Saturday. “In suspending this arrangement, Russia is again weaponizing nutrient successful the warfare it started.”
U.S. President Joe Biden called Russia’s determination “purely outrageous.”
“It’s going to summation starvation,” Biden told reporters successful Delaware connected Saturday.
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. blasted Washington connected Sunday for its absorption to Moscow’s determination and reiterated unsubstantiated claims that U.K. operatives were progressive successful a drone onslaught connected the Russian fleet astatine the Black Sea larboard of Sevastopol successful Crimea connected Saturday.
“Washington’s absorption to the violent onslaught connected the larboard of Sevastopol is genuinely outrageous,” Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said connected Telegram.
The U.S. and the EU called connected Russian President Vladimir Putin to reverse the determination connected the Black Sea atom deal.
“Russia’s determination to suspend information successful the Black Sea woody puts astatine risks the main export way of overmuch needed atom and fertilizers to code the planetary nutrient situation caused by its warfare against Ukraine,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s apical diplomat, said successful a tweet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow has been “deliberately aggravating” the nutrient situation since September. “This is an perfectly transparent volition of Russia to instrumentality the menace of large-scale famine to Africa and Asia,”he said.
“From September to today, 176 vessels person already accumulated successful the atom corridor,” Zelenskyy said successful his nightly code Saturday. Some ships person been waiting for much than 3 weeks, helium said.
Zelenskyy called for a “strong planetary response” to the Kremlin’s move, specifying the U.N. and “in particular” the G20. “How tin Russia beryllium among the G20 if it is deliberately moving for starvation connected respective continents? This is nonsense,” Zelenskyy said.
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