EUs von der Leyen says Russia is using food supplies as a weapon

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpDAVOS, Switzerland Reuters – Russia is using food supplies as a weapon with global repercussions, acting the same way as it does in the energy sector, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.p

pSpeaking at the annual World Economic Forum held in Davos, she said “global cooperation” was the “antidote to Russias blackmail.”pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

p“In Russianoccupied Ukraine, the Kremlins army is confiscating grain stocks and machinery … And Russian warships in the Black Sea are blockading Ukrainian ships full of wheat and sunflower seeds,” von der Leyen added.p

pRussia‘s invasion of Ukraine – and the West’s attempt to isolate Moscow as punishment – have sent the price of grain, cooking oil, fertiliser and energy soaring.p

pThe Kremlin said on Monday that is was the West that was responsible for the global food crisis by imposing the severest sanctions in modern history on Russia over the war in Ukraine.p

p

pp Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten Editing by Bart Meijerp

divdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivdivdiv