UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 30, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Russia was
accused before the UN Security Council on Tuesday of having caused a "global
food crisis" and putting people at risk of "famine" by starting the war in
Ukraine, which serves as a breadbasket for Europe.

  Russian President Vladimir Putin "started this war. Vladimir Putin created
this global food crisis. And he is the one who can stop it," US Deputy
Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said during a Security Council meeting
devoted to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

  "The responsibility for waging war on Ukraine -- and for the war's effects
on global food security -- falls solely on Russia and on President Putin,"
she said.

  France's ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, furthered that "Russia's
aggression against Ukraine is increasing the risk of famine around the world"
and that populations in developing countries would be the first to be
affected.

  "Russia will no doubt try to make us believe that it is the sanctions
adopted against it that are creating an imbalance in the world security
situation for food," de Riviere added.

  Moscow's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia indeed countered that potential
turbulence in the global food market was in fact caused by "the unbridled
sanctions hysteria that the West has unleashed against Russia."

  Sherman and the director of the World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley,
reported that Ukraine and Russia, which are both major cereal producers,
represent 30 percent of world wheat exports, 20 percent for corn and 75
percent for sunflower oil.

  On Friday the European Union announced an initiative to alleviate food
shortages caused by the war. The EU and United States want a multilateral
commitment against restrictions on the export of agricultural raw materials.

  UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya said
the conflict in Ukraine "threatens to make things even worse in the world's
biggest humanitarian crises, such as Afghanistan, Yemen, and in the Horn of
Africa" where food insecurity is already a problem.