By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL- On Saturday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg who spoke at the Grain from Ukraine Summit that was organized by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, praised Turkish and United Nations support in extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Stoltenberg said he saw the ships carrying grain on the Istanbul Strait when he met with Turkish President Erdogan. As Stoltenberg commented: “They are getting food, grain and fertilizers out of Ukrainian ports for the vulnerable people who urgently need it.” The NATO secretary-general also praised the EU and NATO allies for their efforts to get supplies out of Ukraine via land. Last week, the historical grain deal signed in July in Istanbul, by Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine was renewed for another 120 days with the Turkish government’s support which began on November 19.
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg reiterated what he has said before, that Russia is “using hunger as a weapon of war” against Ukraine as well as “to create division and further instability among the rest of the world.” He referenced the Holodomor tragedy 90 years ago when at least 3.9 million people died of starvation between 1932-1933 from Joseph Stalin’s policies and “collectivization” of agriculture which is on record at the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.
