Berlin to host food security conference on Friday

GERMANY will host a meeting on the looming global food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken among those attending, a government spokesman said on Monday (Jun 20).

The gathering on Friday under the title "Uniting for Global Food Security" will address looming shortages caused by the war, the spokesman told a press conference in Berlin.

"The government is particularly committed in its presidency of the G7 to finding joint answers to the looming global hunger crisis triggered by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," he said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted that the conference would aim to "stabilise food supplies worldwide".

The West has demanded Moscow stop blockading Ukraine's Black Sea ports to allow vast stores of grain to be taken to world markets as fears rise of famines in vulnerable regions.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, and blames Western sanctions for the disrupted deliveries that have pushed up cereal prices and fanned fears of famines in vulnerable regions.

The meeting in Berlin will take place as the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised nations prepare to meet on Jun 26 to 28 in the German Alpine resort of Schloss Elmau.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join that meeting by video-link. AFP