Food security in the world is being seriously endangered by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, has said during the World Food Forum in Italy.
President Duda, in his speech at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), pointed out that the world’s food security and sustainable development were being seriously threatened, especially by “Russia’s criminal aggression against Ukraine” which was driven by “imperialist pride.”
“The activities of Russia, its additional crimes and threats to use nuclear weapons against its neighbour, only increasingly isolate this country from the rest of the world,” he said. “Their negative effects are not only being felt in our region but by the entire world as well.
Prezydent @AndrzejDuda w @FAO: Działania Rosji, jej kolejne zbrodnie i groźby użycia broni nuklearnej przeciwko sąsiadowi, nie tylko coraz bardziej izoluje Rosję od reszty świata. Ich negatywne skutki odczuwa nie tylko Polska, Europa, ale i cały świat.
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) October 17, 2022
Russian actions have significantly intensified the growing food crisis, one of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duda added. He pointed out that Russia had prevented and then deeply limited the export of food and agricultural products from Ukraine, which was one of the most important producers in the world.
According to the World Food Programme, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, also supported by Belarusian authorities, poses a serious threat not only to Ukrainians, but also to as many as 345 million people in 82 countries and, as a result, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger may increase by as much as 47 million,” he said.
Duda added that despite the misinformation that was being sown by Russia that the West was to blame for the food crisis. It was not sanctions, but Russian actions that had contributed to the significant decrease in the availability of food and increases in its prices, as well as in the prices of fertilizers and energy, of which it was an important exporter.
Polish President Andrzej Duda is visiting Rome, where he is taking part in the global food forum. “Russia has committed many crimes and violations of international law in Ukraine. I saw the results with my own eyes,” President Andrzej Duda said during the inaugural session of the Forum.
“The issues the summit will grapple with are the scourge of hunger that threatens the entire world and the food crisis caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Among others, Polish President Andrzej Duda spoke at the official opening ceremony. In his speech, the president mentioned how important agriculture is to the Polish economy, but that was not the main focus of his speech.”
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