G7: Russia "Responsible" for Global Food Crisis

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) agreed on Friday that the Russian attack on Ukraine is responsible for the current global food crisis.

The ministers said - in a statement issued on Friday after their meeting in Germany, as reported by the Japanese "Kyodo" news agency, that the G7 made it clear that Russia's attack on Ukraine exacerbates food insecurity, including the closure of the Black Sea and the bombing of grain silos and ports, as well as damage to the agricultural infrastructure of Ukraine.

"The ministers rejected Russia's false narrative and misinformation about sanctions," the statement added, referring to Moscow's claims that food shortages, which have caused global food prices to rise, is stemmed from economic sanctions imposed by the G7 and other Western countries on Moscow.

"We agreed to express clearly that the food crisis was caused by the Russian attack on Ukraine that began in late February," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said in remarks to reporters in Tokyo.

At the meeting, senior diplomats from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union focused on Russia's responsibility for the exacerbation of the global food crisis as a result of the war.

The statement added that all G7 sanctions include exemptions to allow Russian food and agricultural products to reach global markets, noting that the ministers expressed their support for the United Nations' efforts to urgently reopen the Black Sea route to grain exports, as well as the transportation of crops by road, rail and boat to global markets.

Today's session paved the way for the three-day summit of the Group of Seven, which begins next Sunday in Schloss Elmau, southern Germany.

Later in the day, the G7 foreign ministers held extensive talks with countries affected by the food crisis, and relevant international organizations on ways to address the issue of global food security.