The global food crisis was one of the key issues at the G-7 summit of foreign and agricultural ministers. The industrialized nations “never” want to accept border shifts forced by Russia.
Foreign Minister Baerbock at the end of the G-7 meeting in Schleswig-Holstein.
When Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stepped in front of the cameras after the meeting of the seven leading industrial nations (G-7) on Saturday, she filled with words what Chancellor Olaf Scholz had described as a turning point: It was a G-7 meeting, “like us maybe never had it.” The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has created a world situation in which the industrialized countries are more challenged than ever before.
On Thursday, the G-7 countries met at Weissenhäuser Strand in Schleswig-Holstein for several days of consultations. Germany holds the presidency of the G-7 this year. Baerbock made the attitude of the industrialized nations unmistakably clear: the G-7 countries would never accept border changes that Russia wanted to force through military force. The G-7 stand for compliance with international law and against military aggression. Baerbock assured that Ukraine would continue to be helped with arms deliveries. “Duck away” is not an option.
Russia blocks millions of tons of grain
The global grain crisis, which particularly affects poorer countries in Africa, shows how dramatic the situation is. Around 25 million tons of grain cannot be exported from Ukraine because Russia is blocking transport routes via the ports. Baerbock spoke of a “grain war” that threatened brutal famine. Russia used hunger as a deliberately chosen tool in this war.
This was also emphasized by her Green party colleague, Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir. At the same time as the meeting of the G-7 foreign ministers, the agriculture ministers of the G-7 met in Stuttgart. In his final statement, Özdemir said the G-7 continued to support Ukraine in food supplies and the resumption of agricultural exports. Prices of production and food should be monitored more closely and the markets stabilized. Özdemir emphasized that the G-7 is against export bans; one must keep the markets open in order not to act as a fire accelerator. Putin’s “unjustified war” increases hunger in the world.
Özdemir also named climate change as a central challenge of this time. The heat waves in India showed the apocalyptic effects of the climate crisis. Regions that are most severely affected by the consequences of climate change are already suffering from the worst famine. The crises cannot be played off against each other, they have to be solved together. The triad applies to the G-7: food security, climate protection and biodiversity.
However, it is not clear how food can be secured, especially in Africa, if Russia continues to block millions of tons of grain in the ports of Ukraine. Özdemir said that Ukraine was able to deliver most and fastest grain by sea. All other transport routes, such as rail, are significantly worse solutions, which can only be used to deliver a fraction of the goods. The longer the war lasts, the more precarious the situation becomes.
New premises of the world order
Baerbock has criticized Russia’s “disinformation campaign,” which has spread claims that Western countries are imposing sanctions on food or drugs. That is not the case.
The Foreign Minister also made it clear how fundamentally the premises of the world order have shifted. Referring to the G-20, the twenty most important industrialized and emerging countries, she said: “I’m not talking about the West.” That is a geostrategic division of the world that does not fit the year 2022. The 141 states of the United Nations that have condemned this illegal war of aggression against Ukraine are not just western states. Rather, the world community was attacked, in the south, north, east and west.