Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he does not believe Russia’s decision to end a deal that allowed the export of grain from Ukraine will affect the price of groceries.
The Taoiseach was responding to Moscow’s decision on Monday to break off a deal allowing vital grain supplies to be shipped from the port of Odesa during the war.
The United Nations and Ukraine’s western allies criticised Moscow for halting the Black Sea Grain Initiative, saying it put many lives in peril.
Hunger is a growing threat in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.
The Kremlin said the agreement will be suspended until Moscow’s demands to lift restrictions on exports of Russian food and fertiliser to the world are met.
Speaking in Brussels on the second day of an EU summit, Mr Varadkar said: “I don’t think we’re at that point yet. When the war in Ukraine started there was a big shock to energy prices and then a big shock to food prices as well, but we found ways around that, and we found ways to adapt to it by finding other sources of energy, for example.
“So I don’t think we’re going to see another spike in inflation because of this, but we do need to work on it.
“There are other ways to get grain out of Ukraine, for example, through Romania and through Poland.
Doorstep by @LeoVaradkar #Ireland at the #EUCELACSummit on 18 July 2023 in #Brussels.
"Russia's decision of preventing #Ukraine from exporting #grain will affect people not only in Ukraine but also in countries of Latin America, Caribbean, Africa and Asia"https://t.co/cXS3Yhsjbp— EU Council TV News (@EUCouncilTVNews) July 18, 2023
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“If the Russians persist in this policy well then we’ll have to find other ways to get the grain and to get the fertiliser out.
“What Russia has done is very wrong, it’s not just going to affect people in Ukraine, it’s going to affect people in the poorest part of the world.
“I’m here talking to countries and leaders from Latin America, from the Caribbean, you can add to that Africa and Asia, it’s people in those countries that will bear the worst effects of what Russia has decided to do.
“We have to try and get around what they’ve done now by finding ways to get the grain out of Ukraine through European ports.”
