(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, MAY 31 - The chairman of the African
Union warned EU leaders Tuesday that their decision to expel
Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system risks
hurting food supplies to the continent. The war in Ukraine and
Russia's blockade of its neighbour's ports, combined with
African conflicts and climate change, have already sent world
cereal prices surging and exacerbated food crises in Africa. On
Tuesday, Senegalese President and AU leader Macky Sall warned
Europe that its banking sanctions -- part of a raft of EU
sanctions aimed at forcing Russia to abandon its invasion --
aren't helping. Speaking by videoconference to EU leaders in
Brussels, Sall acknowledged that Russia's blockade of Odessa had
harmed Ukrainian food exports, and he backed UN-led efforts to
free the port. "I would also like to tell you that our countries
are very concerned about the collateral effects of the
disruption caused by the blocking of SWIFT payment system," Sall
added. "When the SWIFT system is disrupted, it means that even
if the products exist, payment becomes complicated, if not
impossible. "I would like to insist that this issue be examined
as soon as possible by our competent ministers in order to find
appropriate solutions," he said. On Monday, the EU leaders
agreed to add Russia's largest bank Sberbank to the growing list
of lenders to be excluded from the Belgium-based SWIFT network,
which facilitates inter-bank payments. (ANSA-AFP).
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