Spanish PM Warns of Food Crisis Risk Due to Middle East Conflict

Moscow (ANTARA) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has warned of the risk of a food crisis due to the conflict in the Middle East, which is beginning to impact the global economy, in a letter to members of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) on Sunday (29/3). “We have been living with open war in the Middle East for a month: more than 2,000 people killed, four million people forced to flee, supply chains disrupted, oil and gas prices rising sharply, and a food crisis looming,” he said. Sanchez stated that the surge in energy prices and disruptions to supply chains have increased pressure on global markets. Spain has opposed the war from the beginning, he said, while urging that the war be stopped immediately and the population protected from its economic impacts. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has almost come to a halt after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, which have so far killed more than 1,340 people. The Strait of Hormuz is the main route for shipping energy commodities from Persian Gulf countries to global markets, accounting for about 20 per cent of world oil and liquefied natural gas trade.