Blinken says Russian invasion of Ukraine having ‘deadly’ impact on Arab world

ALGIERS, Algeria — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having a “deadly” impact in the Arab world, particularly through spiraling wheat prices, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in Algiers.

He is speaking on the final leg of a trip that began with an unprecedented Israeli-Arab summit in the Negev desert, attended by Blinken and the foreign ministers of Israel, Egypt and three Arab countries that normalized ties with the Jewish state in 2020.

Import-dependent North African countries face what Blinken describes as a “disaster” as the war in Ukraine sends shockwaves through global wheat and fuel markets. Both Russia and Ukraine are major wheat producers, while Moscow is a major global supplier of oil and gas.

The Russian military campaign has had “deadly consequences for citizens in the region”, he tells journalists in the capital of Algeria.

“It’s having a direct impact on their lives right now, particularly with regard to rising food prices… especially wheat,” he says.

Blinken flew in this morning from Algeria’s arch-rival Morocco, which in 2020 normalized ties with Israel under a deal that sparked renewed tensions between Algiers and Rabat over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Blinken met Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune after holding talks with Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, during his first visit as top US diplomat to the North African country.