Over 75 countries to pledge to combat use of food as weapon of war
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (centre) will open a debate on famine and conflict-induced global food insecurity at the UN.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
NEW YORK – More than 75 countries will “commit to take action to end the use of food as a weapon of war and the starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare” by backing a US-drafted communique at the United Nations, according to senior US officials.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will release the communique on Thursday when he chairs a UN Security Council meeting on famine and food insecurity caused by conflict.
A senior US official said more countries were expected to sign.
Mr Blinken will also announce some US$362 million (S$486 million) in new US funding to “tackle the drivers of food insecurity and enhance resilience” in nearly a dozen African countries and Haiti, said a second senior US official.
While the United States, the European Union and others have accused Russia of using food as a weapon of war by worsening a global food crisis when it invaded Ukraine in February 2022,
“We’re not seeking to turn this into a showdown in Russia or any other country,” the second senior US official said.
“However abhorrent we and so many countries around the world find the actions of Moscow, we recognise this is a challenge that’s bigger than one country,” the official said. “We also know that our partners, especially in the global south, would rather hear a focus on solutions instead of finger pointing.”
Russia in July quit a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain
Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.
After Moscow quit, it began targeting Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure
Russia has said that if its demands to improve its own exports of grain and fertiliser were met, it would consider resurrecting the Black Sea agreement. REUTERS
