NATO urges russia to respect and extend “grain deal”

NATO welcomes the efforts of the UN and Turkey to conclude a "grain deal" to deliver Ukrainian grain and alleviate the food crisis in the world, and also calls on the russian leadership to immediately stop the war against Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated this on Tuesday during a virtual communication with the participants of the COP-27 Climate Conference under the auspices of the UN in Egypt, Ukrinform reports.

"I am glad that the UN and our ally Turkey facilitated the conclusion of the "grain deal," which allowed grain export from Ukraine and partially reduced the pressure in the global food market. At the end of the week, I visited Istanbul and saw grain ships sailing through the Bosphorus strait. I thanked President Erdogan for Turkey's efforts in promoting the "grain deal." We continue to call on russia to respect the "grain deal" and extend it," the head of the Alliance said.

He noted that the war against Ukraine was arbitrarily launched by president putin, which led to bloodshed, suffering, and killing of the civilian population. On top of that, this criminal war has global ramifications; it triggered a global food crisis, a spike in food prices, and global energy prices.

"We must understand: it was not the sanctions imposed by the EU, the USA, and other NATO allies that caused the increase in energy and food prices. It is the war. Because there are no sanctions against food, there are no sanctions against the export of grain from Ukraine. What has caused this food and energy crisis is president putin's deliberate war. He is deliberately weaponizing energy and food," Stoltenberg stressed.

According to him, the best solution to the global crisis could be an immediate stop to russia's war against Ukraine.

"The best way to solve the global problem would be if president putin would stop this war and stop hostilities against Ukraine. Then we would see more food exports, more energy exports. That would be the best way to alleviate this war's global ramifications, " the NATO Secretary General added.