German Chancellor Olaf Schulz on Tuesday blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the current food crisis.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, commodity prices, mainly food and energy, have jumped, with supplies affected as both Russia and Ukraine as major suppliers of goods globally.
The President of the African Union, Senegalese President Maki Sal, warned that Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports was paving the way for a "catastrophic scenario," he said.
In a speech to EU leaders in Brussels on Tuesday, he warned of widespread shortages of goods and rising prices across the African continent.
Germany is committed to its goal of becoming independent of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, the German chancellor said, adding that no decision has been made on options for dealing with the SchwEDT oil refinery.
When asked about the possible nationalization of the refinery, Schulz also noted that work was under way to identify ways to eliminate Russian oil imports at the end of European discussions.
Asked about a possible ban on gas imports from Russia, he said, "Many countries will remain dependent on Russian gas for much longer than Germany," Reuters reported.
Leaders of the 27 EU countries met in Brussels on Monday to agree to ban 90 percent of Russia's oil imports by the end of the year.
وعند سؤاله عن الحظر المحتمل لواردات الغاز من روسيا، قال: "ستبقى العديد من البلدان معتمدة على الغاز الروسي لفترة أطول بكثير من ألمانيا"، وفق ما نقلته "رويترز".