The United States warned on Wednesday that it is about to announce new sanctions against Russia as evacuations continued in the besieged southern Ukraine port city of Mariupol.

As many as 562 people, including 110 children, were evacuated from Mariupol to the Bezymennoye settlement in the Novoazovsky district, a border town on the southeastern tip of Ukraine near Russia, in the past 24 hours, the Territorial Defense Headquarters of Donetsk said in a statement on Wednesday.

Russia's Defense Ministry said that more than 68,000 people had been evacuated from Mariupol as of March 22, adding the humanitarian situation in the city was "catastrophic".

Bombardment from Russian troops in Mariupol continued on Tuesday. Local authorities said two "super powerful bombs" rocked the city during the daytime, but they did not provide a casualty report.

Almost 100,000 people still trapped in the ruined city face starvation "without food, water and medication", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Tuesday.

Satellite images of Mariupol show a charred landscape, with several buildings ablaze and smoke billowing over the city.

The Pentagon said Russia is pummeling Mariupol with artillery and long-range missiles and from naval ships deployed in the nearby Sea of Azov.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the main goal of Russian forces in Mariupol is to clear the city of nationalist units. The nationalists "are simply not letting people out from the town" using civilians "like a shield", he said in an interview with CNN.

Peskov refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict. When asked under what conditions Russian President Vladimir Putin would use Russia's nuclear capability, Peskov replied, "If it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be".

Peskov said the "special operation" in Ukraine is going on strictly in accordance with the plans and purposes established beforehand. From the beginning, no one was expecting it to take "a couple of days", he added.

Moscow is not looking to establish a structure that would reshape or reorganize local authorities in Ukraine's territories, Peskov said.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned on Tuesday that the US, along with the European Union, will impose more sanctions on Russia and toughen existing ones during President Joe Biden's visit to Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday.

Biden will participate in emergency summits of NATO, the European Union and the G7 that will focus on displays of cooperation in punishing Russia and providing support to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has accused Western countries of sending weapons and mercenaries to Ukraine, which are extremely dangerous policies that pose a threat to European and global security.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for more talks, saying elements of diplomatic progress can be seen on several key issues. "There is enough on the table to cease hostilities-now …and seriously negotiate-now," Guterres said at a news conference in New York on Tuesday.

Agencies contributed to the story.

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday held a phone conversation with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during which they discussed the situation in Ukraine.

"A thorough exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine, including on the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, continued," the Kremlin said in a statement.

The phone conversation was held at the initiative of the French side, it added.

LONDON - "The West, and especially America, is principally responsible" for the Ukraine crisis, John J. Mearsheimer, a US political scientist, wrote in a recent opinion piece published in The Economist.

American and European policymakers provoked the Ukraine crisis by trying to integrate Ukraine into the West and asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin bears full responsibility for the crisis, said Mearsheimer, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, "But that story is wrong."

In his view, the Ukraine crisis "is the most dangerous international conflict since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis." The West is now increasing aid to Ukraine while imposing economic sanctions on Russia, a step that Putin sees as "akin to a declaration of war."

Understanding the root causes is essential to finding a way to bring the crisis to an end. The trouble over Ukraine started at NATO's Bucharest summit in 2008 when George W. Bush's administration pushed the alliance to announce that Ukraine and Georgia "will become members," said the article.

In late 2021, the West ignored Russia's security concerns, with intentions of including Ukraine into NATO, which led directly to the current war, Mearsheimer wrote.

Furthermore, Russian policymakers have said "hardly anything about conquering new territory to recreate the Soviet Union or build a greater Russia," said the expert, adding that Russian leaders have repeatedly said that they view Ukraine joining NATO as "an existential threat that must be prevented."

"As Mr. Lavrov noted in January, 'the key to everything is the guarantee that NATO will not expand eastward,'" Mearsheimer said.

Ukrainian children today seem overwhelmed by fear, tears and sorrow, said a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.

"I've seen so many thousands of these children go … husbands and wives farewelling each other, the fathers explaining to the little 7-year-old daughters or 10-year-old sons why they have to leave or why they're being separated," UNICEF spokesman James Elder told China Daily in an interview on Tuesday.

About 1.7 million Ukrainian children have fled their country so far, Elder said.

"We can see a refugee crisis, with Ukraine refugees in the fastest outflow, in terms of speed and scale, unprecedented since World War II and showing no sign of slowing down," said Elder from inside Ukraine.

"This already comes after the trauma of those children being in bunkers and under bombardment, so it's an incredibly dangerous, difficult and sad time for children across the country and for those many, many who have had to flee."

In cities like Mariupol, there is no water supply, no power and heating. "So children's destiny (is being) decided as we speak," Elder said.

"It's a very dark time for those who are trapped, and those in bunkers."

Moreover, scores have been killed and many more injured.

He described the "absolutely harrowing" situation for children in Ukraine, and only an end to the conflict can serve them well.

Risk of separation

Like all children driven from their homes amid war and conflict, Ukrainian children arriving in neighboring countries are at real risk of family separation, violence and trafficking.

"Now, the safest and fastest way out of this catastrophe-indeed the only way out of this catastrophe-is for this war to end, and end now. But until then, attacks in civilian areas and on civilian infrastructure must stop," Elder said.

"They must stop because they're claiming lives. They must stop because they're forcing people to miss out on essential health services, despite catastrophic needs. They must stop for millions of children remaining in areas of conflict in Ukraine."

A UNICEF team in Ukraine has been distributing truck after truck of medical supplies such as surgical, midwifery and obstetrics kits, oxygen generators and concentrators, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene essentials.

"Everything is needed right now," Elder said.

He also said UNICEF operates in neighboring countries where families can get information about support and protection services for those who had to flee.

Yet, "we must be clear, despite all those efforts in Ukraine from volunteers, Ukraine grandmothers to governments, from Ukrainian scouts and teenagers to United Nations agencies, so long as this war continues, the situation of Ukraine's children will only get worse".

"It's truly awful. I don't want to compare crises with everyone: there's Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia,… heartbreaking," Elder said. "But this one is no less, and it's just happening so fast. I haven't met a single Ukrainian who wants to leave their country."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed an offer of direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin late Monday, and Moscow has announced the first prisoner exchange between the two countries.

In an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne late on Monday, Zelensky said he was ready to meet with Putin "in any format" to discuss ending the almost monthlong "special military operation" that has shattered several Ukrainian cities.

Zelensky said even the status of Crimea and Russian-backed statelets in Donbas was up for discussion. It was the first time he said the status of disputed territories could be up for discussion and a possible referendum.

"At the first meeting with the president of Russia, I am ready to raise these issues," he said.

Although Zelensky signaled that he is willing to talk about the status of the three areas, he has repeatedly insisted all three are part of Ukraine and that his country would not surrender.

Satellite images taken on Monday showed Russian artillery positions west of Russian-held Antonov Air Base, northwest of Kyiv. Those positions resemble other Russian artillery positions, with earthen berms been built around them.

Damage from Russian military strikes was also visible in images of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv. Two distinct fires could be seen in central Irpin near a city government complex and other buildings.

Russia has not responded to Zelensky's meeting offer, but announced the first prisoner exchange between the two neighboring countries, Russian state media TASS reported on Tuesday.

"The first exchange happened. We returned nine of our boys," Human Rights Commissioner in Russia Tatyana Moskalkova said in an interview with RT, Russia's English-language TV news network. She confirmed that Russian servicemen were exchanged for the mayor of the Ukrainian city Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov. The Office of the President of Ukraine also confirmed the exchange.

Russia announced that Moscow is ending peace treaty talks with Tokyo in light of new unilateral restrictions against Russia that Japan adopted in response to the Ukraine situation. Russia cited the "impossibility" of continuing discussions "with a country that has taken an openly hostile position and is striving to cause harm to the interest of our country".

Japan and its Group of Seven allies have been united in imposing tough sanctions on Russian financial institutions and leaders.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was ending a visa-free policy for Japanese people to visit the disputed Kuril Islands－which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories－and was pulling out of talks on joint economic activity there.

Agencies contributed to this story.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has roiled commodity markets and threatens global food security. Thanks to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, food prices were already high when the Ukraine crisis erupted. And poor harvests in South America, strong global demand and supply chain issues have reduced grain and oilseed inventories, driving prices to their highest levels since 2011-13.

Vegetable oil prices have also reached record levels, reflecting the poor soybean production in South America, reduced palm oil supplies due to harvesting problems in Malaysia, and sharp increase in the use of palm and soybean oil for biodiesel production. Prices of key energy-intensive inputs such as fuels, fertilizers and pesticides, too, have reached near-record levels.

Net-food importing nations to suffer most

The conflict in Ukraine will further affect global markets, due to disruptions in global grain supplies in the short term and natural gas and fertilizers, which in turn will have negative impacts on producers as they enter a new planting season. This could increase the already-high food prices and have serious consequences for low-income, net-food importing countries, many of which are seeing an increase in malnourishment rates over the past years due to the pandemic-induced disruptions in food supply and rising prices.

Over the past 30 years, the Black Sea region has emerged as an important global channel for grain, oilseed and vegetable oil supplies. In the early 1990s, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the region was a net importer of grains.

Today, Russian and Ukrainian exports account for about 12 percent of the total calories traded in the world, and the two countries are among the top five global exporters of many important cereals and oilseeds, including wheat, barley, sunflower and corn. Ukraine is also the largest exporter of sunflower seed oil, accounting for about 50 percent of the global market.

Many countries are highly dependent on the import of such products from Ukraine and Russia. For example, North Africa and the Middle East import about 60 percent of their cereal needs and a large percentage, between 40 percent to 50 percent, of their wheat and barley from Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is also an important supplier of corn to the European Union and China, and several North African countries including Egypt and Libya.

Grain, oilseed exports likely to be disrupted

Most of the wheat and barley crops are harvested in the summer and exported during the fall, and the export of much of the wheat and barley occurs by late February. But Ukraine's corn and sunflowerseed oil exports remain heavy through the spring into early summer, and most of its grain and oilseed exports flow out of Odessa and other ports on the western shore of the Black Sea. Unfortunately, Russia has blockaded de facto Ukrainian ports since mid-February.

However, disruptions are looking increasingly likely as the military conflict has intensified, forcing shipping to be suspended and threatening the upcoming wheat harvest and spring plantings in Ukraine.

Besides, the countermeasures taken by the United States, the European Union and other economies against Russia could have a huge impact on the latter's natural gas and fertilizer exports. And since Russian natural gas accounts for about 20 percent of the global trade and Russia supplies about 40 percent of the EU's current imports, Western sanctions against Moscow could disrupt energy trade and drive up natural gas prices to even higher levels.

True, European importers could switch to other suppliers such as the US, but logistical issues－the US exports liquefied natural gas－will add to the costs without providing any significant relief, at least in the short term.

Fertilizer prices, too, could surge because Russia is an important supplier of nitrogenous and potash fertilizers－it accounts for 15 percent of the global trade in nitrogenous fertilizers and 17 percent in potash fertilizers－and Belarus which accounts for an additional 16 percent of the global market share of potash exports has already been targeted by some Western sanctions for actions taken by Belarusian authorities against a commercial airline in 2021.

Rising fertilizer prices may reduce food output

The international fertilizer markets have been reeling from the impact of record high prices, so further shortages will have global implications, particularly for developing countries where rising prices could significantly reduce fertilizer use, leading to poor local harvests at a time of shrinking global stocks and record high food prices.

Since the conflict poses a serious threat to global food security, governments and international organizations have to take a range of measures to overcome that.

The situations in the international markets are very fluid, but of immediate concern is the vulnerability of net food-importing countries which are highly dependent on Ukraine for supplies, such as those in the Middle East and North Africa. So the global efforts to restore peace should also include taking measures to better safeguard global food security, which means ensuring that the sanctions against Russia do not impact third-party countries dependent on Russian exports.

And to the extent possible, food and fertilizer exports should be allowed to continue unimpeded, failing which mitigation packages should be provided for the affected third-party countries. Imposing sanctions on those sectors will only exacerbate the global food shortage and mainly penalize populations that are already food insecure.

Protectionist policies won't help countries

Also, given the skyrocketing agricultural prices, some countries could seek to insulate domestic producers by restricting exports. Such moves should be avoided. As we saw in 2007-08 and 2010-11, such beggar-thy-neighbor policies can have harmful effects on importing countries, particularly the most vulnerable. So the sanctions aimed at penalizing a country for breaking international law as well as the export restrictions introduced to protect domestic consumers have to be designed in such a way that they safeguard global food security and protect third-party countries from further harm.

Finally, the reliance of so many countries on Russian oil and gas will trigger important policy debates, and calls for greater energy sovereignty and diversification.

But policies that call for ramping up production of biofuels should be viewed with skepticism. Redirecting food crops (corn, wheat, oilseeds) to non-food uses around the world, from the EU to Indonesia, is already generating significant tensions in food and fertilizer markets. A holistic approach to food and energy security is critical to ensuring that food and nutrition remain a priority for the international community.

Joseph Glauber and David Laborde are senior research fellows at the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

Since the conflict in Ukraine broke out, some US politicians and media have ceaselessly waged a campaign of disinformation against China. One of the most persistent being China is willing to supply Russia with weapons, according to US intelligence officials.

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang categorically refuted this claim in an interview with CBS News on Monday, stating "The allegation that China provides military assistance to Russia is false information, and we oppose it."

But such a claim is nothing new for the US, which 19 years ago invaded Iraq based on a test tube of washing powder. Contrary to its later claim that it was an "intelligence failure" that led to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, it was instead an extremely successful disinformation campaign orchestrated by the CIA that paved the way for the US to use military force to secure Washington's desired regime change in that country.

Despite the allegations being made by the US, China is not supplying weapons and ammunition to either side in the Ukraine conflict. What it has delivered to Ukraine is three batches of emergency humanitarian assistance. This includes food, sleeping bags, infant formula, cotton quilts, and waterproof mats. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that the country will provide another 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) worth of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

In fact, it is the US and other NATO members which are weaponizing the crisis by supplying Ukraine with billions of dollars of weapons. On Friday, for instance, the Joe Biden administration announced an additional $800 million weapons package to assist Ukraine's fight against Russia.

By making Ukraine their proxy in their confrontation with Russia, the US and its allies are escalating the conflict in Ukraine and worsening the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding.

NATO, as a military bloc, should have disbanded after the Cold War. Instead, it continued to expand eastward and gradually eroded Russia's security environment and tilted the strategic equilibrium in Eastern Europe. Since 2014, the US has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of military aid, and NATO has staged multiple large-scale war games there.

The CIA's "judgments" that led to the invasion of Iraq were not the result of a failure within the US intelligence community to correctly analyze and assess the evidence, as was later claimed, but rather a systematic and successful effort of disinformation in order to generate support for military action. The policy was not based on the facts, rather a story was fabricated to justify the policy.

This is a tried-and-tested tactic that the US never tires of. But it is the Ukrainian people who are today paying the price for the tall tales spun by Washington.

Instead of spreading disinformation, the US should do some soul-searching and join peace-loving people around the world to address the root cause of the Ukraine crisis.

UNITED NATIONS - The UN General Assembly (UNGA) will vote Wednesday on a draft resolution on Ukraine, the second such resolution since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, a spokesperson said Monday.

The 11th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly will be held after a letter requesting the resumption was received by UNGA President Abdulla Shahid, his spokesperson Paulina Kubiak told reporters in an email.

"A draft resolution sponsored by Ukraine and other member states has been submitted and is being processed," she said.

According to diplomatic sources, the new UNGA draft resolution focuses on the humanitarian situation, calling for the protection of civilians, medical personnel, aid workers, journalists, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure.

ANKARA -- Turkey had hoped for a tourism revival in 2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict will have a notable toll on the sector, making the revival with even less hope than before.

"Last year, around 28 percent of foreign visitors to Turkey came from Russia and Ukraine. The ongoing conflict will have a real impact on our tourism industry this year," said Firuz Baglikaya, head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).

Turkey welcomed 4.7 million Russian and 2 million Ukrainian holidaymakers in 2021, Baglikaya said, adding that the number of tourists would be considerably lower as there were significant reservation cancellations from both countries.

"Even if the conflict ends, our tourism will be affected," Baglikaya said.

He added that Turkey will try to compensate for the loss by attracting visitors from the Balkans and the Middle East.

"We don't expect any tourists from Ukraine this year and the number of Russians is projected to be around 1.5 million," Nusret Canatar, general manager of two five-star hotels located in Side and Alanya, told Xinhua.

"We expect a very serious loss of revenues, some 30 percent of all tourism receipts for 2022," Canatar warned.

For Turkey's southern resorts, the high season for Russian tourists normally starts in early May.

But even if the conflict ends soon, western sanctions imposed on Russia would have decimated the purchasing power of most Russian households, who may later cancel their overseas holidays, Canatar said.

After airlines such as Airbus and Boeing joined Western financial sanctions against Russia, whose major banks were also excluded from the SWIFT system, the status and frequency of flights from Russia to Turkey should also be concerned, he said.

The tourism industry is a key pillar of Turkey's economy, as it constitutes 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Contrary to the sharp decline in Russian and Ukrainian tourists, Israeli travelers might return to Turkish resorts due to the recent thaw in ties between Turkey and Israel.

"Twenty years ago, tens of thousands of Israeli tourists used to travel to Turkey for holidays. Now, as the two countries are mending ties, we expect tourists' return to our Mediterranean and Aegean coasts," Esra Kilic, an official from an Ankara-based tour agency, told Xinhua.

On March 9, Israeli President Isaac Herzog flew for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, the first high-level meeting between the two countries in years.

Kremlin urges cooperation after Kyiv's rejection of Moscow's Mariupol demand

The Kremlin has highlighted the importance of more cooperation from Kyiv in negotiations after the Ukrainian government rejected an ultimatum to give up the besieged city of Mariupol.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is grateful to all countries that offer mediation in negotiations with Kyiv, but it is important not just to opt for a venue for a meeting but also to make Ukraine more cooperative.

Significant progress in the talks is yet to be made.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine were due to resume negotiations online on Monday morning.

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk was reported in local media as stating the government's rejection of the Russian demand for the coastal city.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had until 5 am on Monday to respond to the Russian proposals, warning that more than a court-martial awaits those who do not surrender.

The southern port city of Mariupol is a pivotal target in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

"We can't talk about surrendering weapons," Vereshchuk said hours before the Russian deadline passed.

"We have already informed the Russian side about it," she said, demanding that Moscow instead open humanitarian corridors to allow an estimated 350,000 people still trapped in the city to leave.

Regardless of the entrenched differences between the two sides, David Arakhamia, the leader of the parliamentary group of the ruling Servant of the People party, said the talks are continuing every day, according to a report by news outlet Ukrainiskaya Pravda.

Picking up on Vereshchuk's demand for humanitarian corridors from Mariupol, Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia's National Defense Management Center, said that Russia would open eastward routes from 10 am to 12 am on Monday.

According to Mizintsev, each convoy would be escorted by mine-clearing personnel in order to ensure a safe evacuation of civilians.

Russia announced eight humanitarian corridors for Sunday, with Ukraine announcing seven additional routes, Mizintsev said.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have continued their campaign for the capital. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said late on Sunday that a shopping center and cars in an adjacent parking lot caught fire following Russian bombardment in Kyiv's Podilskyi district.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a new curfew for the Ukrainian capital later on Monday that would last until Wednesday morning, according to Agence France-Presse.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the forces were completing the defeat of the Donbass nationalist battalion and have advanced 12 more kilometers.

United States President Joe Biden will travel to Warsaw on Friday, after meetings in Brussels, Belgium, with NATO allies and G7 and European Union leaders, according to a statement from White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Agencies contributed to this story.

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv's compromises at peace talks with Russia would be put to a nationwide referendum in Ukraine, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Monday.

"I explained to all negotiating groups: when you talk about all these changes, and they can be historic, there is nowhere to go - we will have a referendum," Zelensky was quoted as saying in an interview with the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

Zelensky emphasized that he stands ready for any compromises if they are supported by the Ukrainian people.

On March 18, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said a ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops and strict security guarantees with specific formulas are Ukraine's main demands at peace talks with Russia.

The fourth round of negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations started on March 14 via video link.

For Kenyans like Mbithe Kyule struggling to make ends meet due to the country's high inflation, a conflict on another continent is about to make daily life a lot more difficult.

Kyule, who lives in the capital, Nairobi, usually gets by selling popsicles and living as frugally as she can. However, there has been a recent surge in the price of basic commodities such as sugar, cooking oil, rice and corn flour.

In a matter of months the price of a liter of cooking oil has risen sharply from $1.30 to $3.10, while the cost of a carton of milk has increased from 40 cents to 50 cents.

"I usually earn $2 to $5 per day and only concentrate on putting food on the table now. I no longer save," Kyule said.

As in many other parts of the world, the inflation rate in Kenya is high, with people also suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 and millions of job losses as well as the lingering effects of a drought.

Supplies disrupted

Food prices in Kenya and the whole of Africa are expected to continue rising over the next few months, due to disruptions to food supplies caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, international organizations and experts have warned. Many African countries rely heavily on imports of grains such as wheat and corn.

Kenya's consumer price index stood at 5.08 percent in February, mainly driven by increases in commodity prices, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 8.7 percent year-on-year, while furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance costs rose 5.41 percent, the bureau said.

Using the hashtag #lowerfoodprices, Kenyans have taken to social media to protest the high cost of living. "I am concerned that 1,000 shillings ($8.75) can't buy basic things for my family to last two days," one user called Prudent Lilly wrote.

In neighboring Uganda, members of Parliament are urging the government to take action over high commodity prices.

At a March 2 parliamentary sitting, MPs highlighted how the high prices had impacted the citizens, saying the cost of fertilizer, for instance, had increased more than fivefold.

The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which tracks the international prices of items, said global food prices rose to a record high in February, led by vegetable oils and dairy products.

Upali Galketi Aratchilage, an economist at the FAO, said food price inflation is coming from outside food production, particularly in the energy, fertilizer and feed sectors. "All these factors tend to squeeze profit margins of food producers, discouraging them from investing and expanding production," Aratchilage said in a statement on March 4.

The World Bank has warned that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to increase the price of food in emerging markets and developing economies.

Global commodity markets are facing a reduction in grain supplies, higher energy prices, higher fertilizer prices, and trade disruption due to closures of major ports.

Gilbert F. Houngbo, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, said continuation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be catastrophic for the world, particularly for people already struggling to feed their families in African countries.

'Grappling with hunger'

"Forty percent of wheat and corn exports from Ukraine go to the Middle East and Africa, which are already grappling with hunger issues, and where further food shortages or price increases could stoke social unrest," Houngbo said in a statement.

Paloma Fernandes, Kenya's Cereal Millers Association chief executive, warned the Russia-Ukraine conflict will affect the cost of production in East Africa and further increase the cost of living in the region.

"Our region relies on both Ukraine and Russia as key exporters for grain, as they account for 33 percent of global wheat supplies," Fernandes said at a news conference.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for immediate peace negotiations to end the conflict at a news conference in New York on March 14.

He said 45 African and less developed countries import at least one-third of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, and the conflict is worsening food shortages in poorer countries.

"Many African countries and poor countries are dependent on wheat production in Russia and Ukraine, but now they are at risk because of the war," Guterres said.

The Chinese government will provide another 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) worth of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday, after the Red Cross Society of China provided 5 million yuan worth of assistance to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society earlier this month.

"China is extremely concerned about civilians harmed in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia," Wang told a daily news conference. "The most urgent imperative for the international community is to tackle the potential large-scale humanitarian crisis that might arise in the conflict."

China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting the easing of tensions and make efforts to overcome the humanitarian crisis, Wang said.

The Red Cross Society of China said it provided three batches of emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine from March 9 to 14.These included food, sleeping bags, infant powdered formula, cotton quilts, and waterproof mats.

China has put forward a six-point proposal to ease the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, including that humanitarian action must be neutral and avoid politicization of humanitarian issues, and that effective measures should be taken to protect civilians and prevent secondary humanitarian disasters in Ukraine.

The European Union's sustainable food strategy is to be reviewed because of widespread opposition across Europe's food and agriculture sector, and also the ongoing economic impact of the Ukraine conflict, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying it was based on a pre-Ukraine crisis world.

In addition to the widely-publicized dependence of much of Europe on Russian energy supplies, the conflict in Ukraine has also sent the cost of fertilizer and crops, such as maize, soaring-at the moment, half of the maize used in the EU comes from Ukraine.

The Farming Life website calls Ukraine the breadbasket of Europe, and says it is the world's largest producer of sunflower oil, and fourth-largest producer of potatoes, exporting crops not just to the EU but also to China, Turkey, India, and Africa.

In light of the disruption these supply lines will face, Europe needs to review its approach to agriculture, with widespread complaints about the proposed new policy coming from Spain and Italy, and France, where Macron is running for re-election.

Two years ago, it was agreed that there should be a new bloc-wide approach to farming, to get carbon emissions down to net-zero by the year 2050, but the urgency of the new situation means this may have to change, with EU agriculture ministers meeting on Monday to discuss this.

"There is a desire to make sure that the objectives we have in our public policy are consistent with the need for food security... and sovereignty," an EU diplomat told the Financial Times.

The EU food strategy, known as Farm to Fork, is part of the European Green Deal and was billed as "aiming to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly".

"Food systems cannot be resilient to crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, if they are not sustainable," the official description of the policy said.

"We need to redesign our food systems which today account for nearly one-third of global (greenhouse gas) emissions, consume large amounts of natural resources, result in biodiversity loss and negative health impacts (due to both under-and over-nutrition), and do not allow fair economic returns and livelihoods for all actors, in particular for primary producers."

One of the most controversial innovations suggested by Pekka Pesonen, secretary-general of the EU farmers' lobby group Copa-Cogeca, is to boost productivity in an emissions-friendly way by allowing gene editing of plants and animals.

"Roughly speaking, two-thirds of the productivity improvements will come from better genetic material, our crops and livestock," he said.

European agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski is on record as saying Farm to Fork is the best long-term solution to Europe's agricultural challenges, but because of the recent disruption, he has proposed some temporary alterations to its terms.

However, pressure groups are calling on him to resist being steered too far away from its values.

"Watering down the Farm to Fork strategy and its policies will maintain Europe's dependence on non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels, and will go against what is needed right now to secure food for all," said a letter from the Food Policy Coalition.

Standing behind the peace talks, controlling the humanitarian crisis and avoiding a greater impact on the global economy, a number of developing countries have echoed China's stance on these topics of common concern as they discussed the Ukraine crisis in diplomatic circles.

As led by President Xi Jinping, China, alongside a number of nations from Asia, Africa and South America, want to make sure that "give peace a chance" does not end up as an empty slogan, officials and experts said.

Since the outbreak of the crisis, Xi has talked to the leaders of a number of countries separately by telephone or video link and discussed the Ukraine situation.

"The comments and all the diplomacy efforts made by Xi fully display the broad vision and strong sense of duty that a major country should have, and this is exactly what a major country is expected to be doing," said Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies' Department of American Studies.

Su highlighted a telephone conversation Xi had with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday.

During their talk, both leaders voiced support for Russia and Ukraine keeping up the momentum of their peace talks, and they agreed that sovereign countries are entitled to independently decide on their own positions.

"In contrast to the bloc confrontation and unilateral sanctions sought by US-led Western countries in the Ukraine crisis, China and many other developing countries hold their own views and positions, comprising a vast 'middle zone'," Su said.

As many "middle zone" countries call for the success of a cease-fire via peace talks and offer humanitarian aid instead of weapons, they stand in sharp contrast to some Western countries' forcing of other nations to take sides, and "the global community is crystal clear about which pattern will be helpful to eventually resolving the crisis", Su said.

On March 2, 35 countries－including Algeria, China, South Africa and Mongolia－abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine.

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra told State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a meeting on Sunday that their two countries' abstention sent a clear signal that they hope to maintain independence and are willing to give peace a chance.

Algeria believes that China's proposition, based on international fairness and justice and aimed at promoting peace, stability and security, represents a correct and broad path, he said.

Wang told reporters after the meeting that the majority of countries in the world, including China and other developing countries, "share reasonable concerns and hold similar positions".

No country should be forced to choose sides, and when dealing with complex issues and divergent views, one should not opt for the simplistic approach of "friend or foe" and "black or white", Wang said.

Xu Yicong, a researcher at the China Foundation for International Studies and a former Chinese ambassador to Cuba, said, "As many countries have discussed the situation and made constructive proposals, their ideas deserve equal opportunity to be known by more people."

Independent roles

Indonesia holds the chairmanship of this year's G20 Leaders' Summit. In an interview with Japan's Nikkei newspaper this month, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for a cease-fire in Ukraine and said continued dialogue rather than economic sanctions on Russia is the way to resolve the crisis.

"US-led Western countries should realize that many major emerging economies－such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa－are highly self-reliant in shaping their own strategy," said Zhu Jiejin, a professor of global governance studies at Fudan University's School of International Relations and Public Affairs.

"These countries do not easily take sides between the US and Russia in the crisis. They take the world's bigger picture into consideration and act on their own interests. They know even the so-called unprecedented sanctions will not lead to peace," Zhu added.

A number of Middle East countries have refused to take sides on the Ukraine situation as well, leading to complaints or concerns from some US officials and policy researchers.

The Washington Institute think tank said in a policy analysis this month that "many nations in the Middle East are keen on balancing their relationships with the United States and Russia".

Xue Qingguo, a professor of Arab studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, noted that many Gulf nations view the crisis differently from the US and its allies.

"The majority of Middle East countries' governments and public subscribe to neutrality and not taking sides, and China's stance on the situation is winning more support there," Xue said.

Xue noted that in addition to the Middle East, most African, Southeast Asian and South American countries have not followed up on the sanctions pushed by US-led Western countries.

"The voice of the vast number of developing countries should be given a higher profile, which is also giving peace a chance. And the overwhelming global support to sanctioning Russia, as portrayed by the media outlets of the US and some of its allies, is actually something false and overblown," Xue said.

BEIJING - China has decided to provide more humanitarian aid supplies to Ukraine worth 10 million yuan ($1.57 million), a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing that this additional offer was based on the development of the situation and the actual needs of Ukraine. The Red Cross Society of China had earlier provided 5 million yuan worth of humanitarian aid supplies to the Ukrainian side.

"China pays close attention to the civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Wang said, noting that the top priority for the international community now is to deal with the possible large-scale humanitarian crisis.

Wang said China has put forward a six-point initiative on alleviating the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and has taken concrete actions, including providing humanitarian aid supplies.

"China will continue to play a constructive role in easing the situation in Ukraine and stands ready to make its own efforts to overcome the humanitarian crisis," said Wang.

MOSCOW - A senior naval commander from Russia's Black Sea Fleet had been killed in Ukraine, said governor of Sevastopol, a port city on the Crimea Peninsula, on Sunday.

Post-Captain Andrei Paliy, the fleet's deputy commander, died during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the messaging app Telegram.

Sevastopol is the base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

ANKARA - Russia and Ukraine have made progress on the "critical" articles of a ceasefire agreement being negotiated, but some issues still require decisions by their leaders, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sunday.

"If the parties do not step back from their current positions, we can say that we are hopeful for a ceasefire," Cavusoglu told local daily Hurriyet.

"We see that the parties are close to agreement on fundamental issues," Cavusoglu said, reiterating his optimism when attending a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

In the past week, Cavusoglu had meetings with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in Moscow and Lviv, respectively.

Speaking to Hurriyet on Saturday, Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said that Moscow and Kyiv were negotiating on six points, namely "Ukraine's neutrality, disarmament and security guarantees, the 'de-Nazification,' removal of obstacles on the use of the Russian language in Ukraine, the status of Donbass and the status of Crimea."

On March 10, Turkey hosted the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum for their first high-level negotiations since the onset of the conflict, although the talks did not yield much progress on a ceasefire.

WARSAW－Hoping to restore some normalcy after fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, thousands of refugees waited in long lines on Saturday in the Polish capital Warsaw to get identification cards that will allow them to get on with their lives－at least for now.

Refugees started queuing at Warsaw's National Stadium overnight to get the coveted PESEL identity cards that will allow them to work, live, go to school and get medical care or social benefits for the next 18 months. Still, by midmorning, many were told to come back another day, as the demand was too high despite Polish authorities having simplified the process.

"We are looking for a job now," said Kateryna Lohvyn, 30, who was standing in line with her mother, adding that it took a bit of time to recover from the shock.

"We don't yet know (what to do).But we are thankful to the Poles. They fantastically welcome us."

Maryna Liashuk said the warm welcome from Poland has made her feel at home. If the situation worsens, Liashuk said, she would like to stay permanently in Poland with her family.

"If there is someplace to return to, we will do that. And if not, then we simply will remain here," Liashuk said.

Poland has taken in more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine－the bulk of more than 3.3 million people that the United Nations said have fled since Russia's conflict with Ukraine began on Feb 24. Hundreds of thousands more have also streamed into Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.

Most refugees fleeing Ukraine have been women and children.

Polish authorities said more than 123,000 refugees have been given ID numbers, including more than 1,000 each day in Warsaw, since the program was launched on Wednesday.

Svetlana, a Ukrainian woman from Ivano-Frankivsk who has lived and worked in Poland for more than 10 years, has had relatives come now to Poland. She said receiving Polish ID cards will make a huge difference for the refugees.

"This is really so important to us that we can officially look for work, send children to school and be active here," Svetlana said. "It really changes the way we feel here."

Refugees can receive a one-time benefit of 300 zlotys ($70) per person and a monthly benefit of 500 zlotys for those under the age of 18.Those who find jobs will have to pay taxes.

Pavlo Masechko, a 17-year-old from Novovolynsk in western Ukraine, has been trying to rebuild his life in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow.

"It is so stressful to leave your country in a moment like this," said Masechko, who has joined a local school in Poland since arriving. Now, Masechko's Ukrainian teacher is trying to organize classes online.

"When the situation started, it was very difficult for me to focus on other things. But time passed and now the situation is more stable and stable in my head also," he said. "I have started to focus again on other things in my life."

Many of the refugees from Ukraine have since moved on to other countries in Europe, mostly to stay with friends and family. Some, however, have chosen to go back home even as the end of the conflict is nowhere in sight.

Among them is 41-year-old Viktoria. "My relatives are there," she said.

Agencies via Xinhua

West should not supply weapons funds and mercenaries, Duma chairman says

MOSCOW－The United States and NATO must stop supplying weapons and sending mercenaries to Ukraine, a senior Russian official said on Saturday.

"Weapons and ammunition are supplied by NATO countries. Mercenaries who fill the ranks of (Ukraine's) nationalist battalions are recruited in the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance with the consent of their leadership," Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament, or the Duma, posted on Telegram.

"So when (US President Joe) Biden and his NATO colleagues call for peace, they must first start with themselves. It is their fault that the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification are being delayed."

If Western countries want peace, they should channel funds not to military supplies, but humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people, he said.

His comments come as a Ukrainian official confirmed that the country will receive more weapons from the US.

Ukraine will receive a new shipment of US weapons within days, including Javelin and Stinger missiles, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in a televised interview on Saturday.

"The (weapons) will be on the territory of our country in the nearest future. We are talking about days."

NATO countries have delivered planeloads of weapons shipments to bolster Ukraine's military in recent days.

According to a Reuters report, the US has informally raised with Turkey the unlikely possibility of sending its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems to Ukraine to help it fight, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

The Turkish authorities have not commented on any US suggestion or proposal relating to the transfer to Ukraine of the S-400 systems, which have been a point of longstanding contention between the two NATO allies.

Turkish foreign ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

Australia expanded its sanctions against Russia on Sunday by banning all exports of alumina and bauxite and pledged more weapons assistance for Ukraine.

The export ban aims to impact aluminum production in Russia, which relies on Australia for 20 percent of its alumina.

'Unacceptable nature'

On Saturday Russia's President Vladimir Putin, in a phone conversation with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, referred to "the unacceptable nature of the military-biological activities of the United States in Ukraine", the Kremlin said in a statement.

Such activities pose a huge danger to both Russia and Europe as a whole, he was quoted as saying.

The two leaders discussed Russia's "military operation" in Ukraine, and Putin talked of missile attacks by Ukrainian security forces on cities in Donbass, the statement said.

Bettel said "no one stands to gain from these clashes; not Russia, not Europe and certainly not Ukraine", according to a statement on the official website of the Luxembourg government.

Bettel briefed Putin on contacts with leaders of Ukraine and other countries, and Putin outlined his assessments of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, the statement said.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry asked the US to provide all information on the activities of US-linked biological laboratories in Ukraine.

Amid continuing shelling, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Sunday that seven humanitarian corridors would open on Sunday to enable civilians to leave front line areas.

Ukraine has evacuated 190,000 people from such areas since the conflict began on Feb 24, Vereshchuk said on Saturday, though Ukraine and Russia blame each other for hobbling the process.

Satellite images on Friday from Maxar Technologies showed a long line of cars leaving the southeastern city of Mariupol as people tried to evacuate. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 9,000 people had been able to leave the city the previous day.

Agencies - Xinhua