Putin: There is real threat of famine amid volatility in energy, food prices

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the existence of a real threat of famine and large-scale shocks against the backdrop of volatility in energy and food prices in the world, Report informs citing TASS.

Putin was speaking in Astana at the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

“Our Conference and other regional associations have to deal with many acute problems. I mean, among other things, the increased volatility of world prices for energy, food, fertilizers, raw materials and other important goods,” he said.

“This leads to a deterioration in the quality of life in both developed and developing countries. Moreover, there is a real threat of famine and large-scale social upheavals, especially in the poorest countries,” Putin said.

Touching upon the situation in Afghanistan, he noted that Afghanistan remains one of the most acute security challenges for the region.

“This country, after more than 20 years of the military presence of the US and NATO, the failure of their policies, turned out to be unable to independently solve the problems associated with terrorist threats,” Putin said, calling for unfreezing the blocked funds of Afghanistan and compensating the country for damage.