Pope Francis called on Russia to revive the Black Sea grain deal, under which Moscow allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the war.
“I am calling on my brothers, the authorities in the Russian Federation, to re-establish the Black Sea initiative so that the wheat could be safely transported”, Francis said on Sunday during his weekly Angelus prayer.
“We are constantly praying for martyred Ukraine, where the war is destroying everything, including the wheat, which is a major offense to God because wheat is his gift to feed humanity and the cries of millions of our brothers and sisters suffering from hunger are lifting to the sky,” he added.
The Ukraine grain deal was announced last year and allowed around 33 million tonnes of grain to leave Ukrainian ports, helping to stabilize global food prices and avert shortages.
Earlier in July, Russia refused to extend the deal, which was brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey.
Moscow withdrew from the agreement after protesting for months that the parts of the deal that allowed for the export of Russian fertilizer were not honored.
