MADRID, 30 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The government has asked Russia to maintain the indirect agreement with Ukraine to allow the export of grain from Ukrainian ports during the war so as not to aggravate the food security crisis.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has urged Russia to “reverse its decision” to abandon the agreement, which “is necessary to guarantee food for thousands of people in the world.”

“Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the agreement will cause hunger and aggravate the food security crisis,” he added in a post on his Twitter profile.

For his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has called Moscow’s decision “regrettable” and has accused the country of “wanting to keep the food war front open” and “causing hunger and insecurity in least developed countries”.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday the suspension of the agreement for the export of Ukrainian grain in retaliation for the “terrorist attack” against ships of the Black Sea Fleet based in the port of Sevastopol.