Agriculture ministers of the G7 countries (Group of Seven highly industrialized countries) on Sunday condemned Russia’s use of food “as a destabilizing tool and tool of geopolitical coercion” during its invasion of Ukraine, EFE reports.

“We continue to condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine,” said a joint statement adopted by the Group of Seven at the end of their two-day meeting in the southwestern Japanese city of Miyazaki. ), in which the EU representative also took part.

The ministers of agriculture of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union expressed “deep concern about the devastating impact of the war on world food security, in particular due to the sudden increase in prices for grain, fuel. and fertilizers, which disproportionately affects the most vulnerable segments of the population,” the text says.

The G7 expressed its support for initiatives by the EU, Ukraine and Turkey to open grain export channels from the war-torn territory, one of the world’s largest producers, and, in particular, expressed its “strong support” for the expansion and implementation of the initiative to transport grain through the Black Sea.

The Group of Seven industrialized nations pledged to “support those most affected by Russia’s militarization of food” with measures to ensure their access to food and fertilizer.

The signatories of the declaration also reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine by sharing with this country their diverse experience and agricultural expertise, as well as promoting the restoration of infrastructure and access to financing and seeds for Ukrainian farmers through international organizations. (Agerpress)