‘Russian colonization’ must end to avoid famine: Ukrainian president

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Global food crisis will continue as long as this "colonizing war" continues, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.

"This war may seem very distant to you and your countries. But catastrophically rising food prices have already brought it home to millions of African families, as well as to many in Asia, Europe, Latin America," he told the Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union.

Speaking via video link, Zelenskyy said some countries on the African continent are finding it particularly difficult to maintain the necessary food supplies.

Ukraine is one of the top wheat suppliers globally, but its shipments have stalled since Russia began its war in country in February, and blocked its ports.

Russia denies responsibility for the food crisis, blaming it on Western sanctions.

According to the African Union, sanctions on Russia, in particular its exclusion from the international payment mechanism SWIFT, is preventing some member countries from buying food products.

But the EU says their sanctions do not target food and fertilizers and "anybody that wants to buy Russian food and fertilizers, they can do it."

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was one of the main European producers of fertilizers, but production is "virtually stopped" due to the war.

The Ukrainian president said the war was the starting point of the global crisis, and there was no food shortage even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If it was not for the Russian war, our farmers and agricultural companies could have ensured record harvests this year,” he said, adding that the world would not suffer from the "catastrophic" rise in food prices.

Zelesnkyy said Russia is using "the suffering of the people" to pressurize the countries that have imposed sanctions.

He called on the African Union member countries to make sure that their voices are strong enough to be heard in the international arena.

“I invite you to visit our country now to renew our bilateral ties. And I propose to start preparing, with our common willingness, a large political and economic conference ‘Ukraine – Africa’,” he said.

Mentioning that Ukraine has always supported peace on the African continent, Zelenskyy stressed: “We must free our people from the threats artificially created for us by any states that simply want to conquer us, use our resources and our land.”

“And our number one task now is to finally get rid of the threat of famine. In the 21st century, such a threat simply cannot exist - thanks to Ukraine, thanks to our agricultural sector,” he said.

Zelenskyy said in order to avoid famine, Russian efforts "to return to the aggressive policy of colonialism must end" as "the time of empires is over!"