G7 Agrees to Hold Russia Responsible for Global Food Crisis

Kyodo News reported on June 24, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world’s breadbasket, has triggered the current global food crisis, the foreign ministers of Group of Seven industrialized nations (G7) agreed on Friday.

After virtually attending a hybrid format meeting in Germany, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that G7 ministers believed Moscow’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports through ports on the Black Sea had further exacerbated the food shortage.

The food supply issue has negatively affected African and Middle East countries, which are highly dependent on grain imports from Ukraine.

Moscow claimed the food shortages, which have caused global food prices to soar, stemmed from economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by G7 nations and other Western countries.

Some African countries believe Russia’s narrative, according to Yoshimasa Hayashi.

“We agreed to express clearly that (the food crisis) is caused by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” which began in late February, Hayashi said.

Yoshimasa Hayashi also pledged to support the efforts of the United Nations and the European Union to help Ukraine resume food exports.

Friday’s meeting paved the way for a three-day G7 summit starting Sunday in Schloss Elmau in southern Germany and preceded the July 7-8 foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) on the Indonesian island of Bali, with the planned participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.