Ekeomah Atuonwu
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Africa was a “hostage” in the war with Russia, which had contributed to rising food prices on the continent.
African countries are acutely affected by the growing crisis, which has sent prices of grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilisers soaring.
Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a key global fertilizer exporter and Ukraine a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil.
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In an address to African Union leaders, Zelenskiy claimed the continent had found itself in a predicament that it had not created.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall stated in early June that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had told him that he was willing to allow the shipment of Ukrainian grain to help alleviate a worldwide food crisis that was particularly severe on Africa.
After Zelenskiy’s address, Sall, the African Union’s leader, declared on Twitter on Monday that the continent remained dedicated to international law, peaceful conflict resolution, and free commerce.
