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EU's von der Leyen says Russia is using food supplies as a weapon

24 May 2022 23:52 (UTC +04:00)

Russia is using food supplies as a weapon with global repercussions, acting the same way it does in the energy sector, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, APA reports citing Reuters.

Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, she said "global cooperation" was the "antidote to Russia's blackmail."

"In Russian-occupied Ukraine, the Kremlin's 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.

The EU has pledged to open "solidarity channels" with Ukraine - alternative logistics routes to help the country export grain. The bloc's agriculture policy chief on Tuesday said the idea had received full support from EU countries' agriculture ministers at a meeting in Brussels.