3:38 p.m. ET, October 29, 2022
White House says Russia is "weaponizing food" by backing out of grain deal
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak
Russia’s decision to suspend participation in a
United Nations-brokered grain export deal is “weaponizing food,” the White House said Saturday.
“Any talk by Russia of disrupting these critical grain exports is essentially a statement that people and families around the world should pay more for food or go hungry,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, in a statement.
“Russia is again trying to use the war it started as a pretext for weaponizing food, directly impacting nations in need and global food prices, and exacerbating already dire humanitarian crises and food insecurity,” the statement read.
Russia said it was halting participation in the deal with Ukraine after
drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country’s defense ministry announced Saturday.
Some background: In July, following months of negotiations, ministers from both Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey. Russia pledged to unblock ports on the Black Sea to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds – some of Ukraine’s most important exports.
“The Black Sea Grain Initiative has already moved more than 9.3 million metric tons of grain and brought prices down around the world. It has been a tremendous success and must continue,” the White House statement read.