Arms for Ukraine today are the key to world food security, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak said.
“One should understand the cause-and-effect relationships of global processes. Russia threatened the food security of the world by unleashing war in Ukraine. The only way to restore order is to help Ukraine win. Weapons for Ukraine today are the key to the food security of the world,” he wrote in Twitter.
At the opening of the G7 Agriculture Ministerial Conference in Stuttgart on May 13, Minister of Agrarian Policy Ministry of Ukraine Mykola Solsky proposed to discuss the creation of an influential organization of the main countries-supplies of grain in the world, responding to modern challenges and threats to food security, including from the Russian Federation.
As stated in the message of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on Saturday, among the tasks of this organization, Ukraine sees, in particular, the establishment of maximum volumes of exports of grain crops to stabilize prices and predictability of the market, the development of a mechanism for directing excessive balances of agricultural products to the needs of the “green” sector of the economy.
In addition, this organization could apply joint restrictive measures against unfriendly actions of food importers, especially in the case of restrictive measures by third countries on the import of processed products.
Another principle introduced by the organization should be, in the opinion of Ukraine, the storage of grain residues contracted by third countries, to a large extent in producing countries.
Solsky also called on his colleagues to contribute as much as possible to lifting the blockade on the export of agricultural products from Ukraine.
“Due to the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, seven million tonnes of wheat, 14 million tonnes of corn, three million tonnes of sunflower oil and three million tonnes of sunflower cake, as well as other crops, did not enter the world market. This has already led to a record increase in prices on the world market and will inevitably lead to a global food crisis and rising inflation,” the minister said.
Ukraine and Moldova will renew the Free Trade Agreement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.
“Despite the war we are implementing agreements of 2021. The draft law on the application of Pan-Euro-Mediterranean rules of origin was submitted to Parliament,” Shmyhal said in Twitter on Friday.
In turn, representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk said the draft law approved on Friday “On the ratification of the Protocol between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on Free Trade Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Moldova dated November 13 2003” will allow in bilateral trade between Ukraine and Moldova, when determining the origin of goods, to be guided by the provisions of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin or alternative rules of origin of the said Regional Convention.
The US House of Representatives passed a number of bills related to the situation in Ukraine on Wednesday, The Hill said.
One of the bills is aimed at alleviating the debt burden of Ukraine. Some 452 congressmen voted for it, while 56 voted against.
The document instructs the U.S. Treasury Secretary to seek from U.S. representatives in international financial organizations, including the IMF and the World Bank, the immediate suspension of debt service payments by Ukraine and the provision of financial assistance to Kyiv on favorable terms.
The second bill seeks to require the U.S. executive branch to seek to the fullest extent possible the exclusion of Russian officials from participation in meetings, meetings and other events of the G20, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Financial Stability Board, the International Insurance Association supervisors and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
Some 416 congressmen voted for this project, while two voted against.
The third bill concerns the need for U.S. financial institutions to comply with U.S. sanctions against Russia and Belarus. It was approved by 418 votes.
According to the congressional database, all three documents must now go to the Senate for consideration.
Foreign Ministers of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba and Moldova’s Nikolai Popescu will attend the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers, which starts on Thursday in Germany, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday.
“The representative of the German Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in Berlin that the discussions near the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein will periodically join the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba and Moldovan Nikolay Popescu,” the newspaper writes.
The publication recalls that Germany is currently chairing the G7. At the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers, they will discuss the consequences of the situation around Ukraine, its impact on energy and food security.
Ministers will also talk about China and the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, the situation in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, whose country now chairs the G20, will take part in some of the discussions.
Later, the Süddeutsche Zeitung recalls, on May 14-15, the foreign ministers of the NATO countries will gather for an informal meeting in Berlin. At the same time, the newspaper specifies, on Saturday the Foreign Ministers of Sweden and Finland, Ann Linde and Pekka Haavisto, will join the consultations.
In turn, the German Foreign Ministry noted that this format of meetings within NATO will be held for the first time, it should contribute to the development of a dialogue between the members of the alliance, a more direct and open exchange of views.
Consumer price growth in Ukraine in April 2022 slowed to 3.1% from 4.5% in March, but exceeded 1.6% in February and 1.3% in January, the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) reported on Tuesday.
In April last year, inflation was 0.7%, so in annual terms in April this year it rose to 16.4% from 13.7% in March, 10.7% in February and 10% in January, the agency said.
Core inflation also eased to 3% last month from 3.8% in March. However, taking into account 0.7% in April 2021 in annual terms, it increased to 13% from 10.5% in March, 8.2% in February and 7.6% in January.
Since the beginning of this year, for its first four months, inflation in Ukraine amounted to 10.9%, and the base – 8.1%, said the State Statistics Service.
The National Bank of Ukraine, as reported by its head Kirill Shevchenko, expected an increase in inflation in April to 15.9%.
As reported, in 2021 inflation in Ukraine rose to 10% from 5% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2019, while core inflation rose to 7.9% against 4.5% a year earlier.
