Josep Borrell says EU is 'not winning global battle of narratives' on Ukraine

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, stated that the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Bali demonstrated to him the various perspectives around the world on the situation in Ukraine and its consequences. Borell went on to say that in the March vote at the UN General Assembly, 140 states condemned Russian aggression, and no member of the G20, other than the aggressor, voted against it. However, views on how to proceed and the consequences of the war differ sharply, he noted.

"The G7 and like-minded countries are united in condemning and sanctioning Russia and in trying to hold the regime accountable. But other countries, and we can speak here of the majority of the `Global South’, often take a different perspective. The global battle of narratives is in full swing and, for now, we are not winning," Borrell stated in an official statement published on EU's website.

According to Borrell, more than 323 million people are on the verge of starvation as Russian forces continue to bomb Ukraine, a neighbouring nation. At the "Group of Twenty" ministerial meeting in Indonesia, Borrell accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of the current global situation, claiming that the number of people facing severe food shortages has doubled in the previous two years.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is dramatically exacerbating food crisis: Borrell

He claimed that nearly 141 million people were forced to experience a severe food crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that there were at least 135 million people who were already experiencing a severe food shortage. However, he emphasised that since the start of the alleged "special military operation" against Kyiv, the number had increased further to 323 million.

European Pravda quoted Borrell as saying, "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is dramatically exacerbating the food crisis. In just two years, the number of people in the world experiencing severe food shortages has doubled from 135 million before the COVID-19 pandemic to 276 million at the beginning of 2022 and 323 million today."

Furthermore, the European Union's foreign policy chief noted that every sixth person on Earth is currently experiencing a severe food shortage as a result of rising food, energy, and financial conditions prices. Notably, major seaports in Kyiv have been closed since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. Since then, Ukraine has used alternative routes to export grains to the rest of the world.

Image: AP