Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has warned that the global bread war began because of the ban on the export of Ukrainian wheat, amid accusations between the West and Russia over responsibility for the food shortage crisis.

Di Maio said, in statements carried by Western media outlets, including the American Post, that the global bread war has already begun and we must stop it.

He explained that this matter could lead to political destabilization in Africa, the spread of terrorist organizations, and coups;

"This could be the cause of the grain crisis we are going through."

It is noteworthy that before the Russo-Ukrainian war, Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grain in the world.

Agricultural fertilizers and their commodities are essential to the food security of regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The Italian minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, which also includes an agreement on grain, such as a ceasefire agreement that allows the evacuation of women, civilians and children who have been subjected to Russian bombing in eastern Ukraine for 100 days, as he put it.

Di Maio pointed out that there are 30 million tons of grain trapped in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships.


constructive conversations

For its part, the United Nations announced on Friday that it had held frank and constructive talks with Russia on Ukraine's grain exports through the Black Sea.

In a press conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, held talks in Moscow for two days (Thursday and Friday), and had frank and constructive discussions with his counterparts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense in Moscow.

He added that Griffiths' mission focused on searching for ways to facilitate exports of Ukrainian grain and related foodstuffs from Ukraine's ports on the Black Sea.

Western accusations

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced, at a press conference in Manama, that his country can guarantee the passage of ships loaded with grain from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, provided Ukraine removes sea mines in the region.

While the British Ministry of Defense said, in a statement, that Ukraine deployed naval mines only due to the continuing Russian threats to launch attacks from the Black Sea.

The European Union accuses Russia of confiscating stocks of Ukrainian grain and machinery, and bombing grain depots across the country, which Moscow denies.

For his part, US President Joe Biden accused Russia of causing a rise in energy and food prices in the world by launching war on Ukraine and preventing the export of Ukrainian grain shipments.

In turn, the Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, told Al Jazeera that there is a food crisis, which is one of the consequences of the Russian war on Ukraine.

In this context, Ukraine's ambassador to Ankara, Vasyl Bodna, accused Russia of "stealing" Ukrainian grain crops and exporting them to several countries, including Turkey.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced attempts to blame Russia for the global food shortage, stressing that the United States' decision to print money led to an increase in food prices globally.

The Russian president proposed the ports under his country's control in Ukraine as an alternative way to carry out the Ukrainian grain transportation.

For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed Russia's readiness to supply grain to countries in need, provided that restrictions imposed in this regard are lifted.


faw report

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced that wheat prices rose by 5.5% on a monthly basis.

The United Nations coordinator in charge of the Ukraine crisis, Amin Awad, said more negotiations were needed to open trade corridors across the Black Sea.

He believed that "not opening those ports will lead to famine, unrest and mass migration around the world," noting that the shortage of wheat and other grains could affect 1.4 billion people.

With the passage of 100 days since the war, the economies of the two countries were not spared from serious damage, as economic estimates indicate that Russia lost 300 billion dollars in gold and currencies that were frozen in Western countries.