New York (CNN Business) David Beasley, head of the United Nations World Food Programme, is pleading with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reopen Ukraine's Black Sea ports before global calamity strikes. "Millions of people around the world will die because these ports are being blocked," Beasley told CNN during a conference on Thursday. Ukraine's economy faces collapseBeasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, warned that the ports must be operational within the next 60 days or Ukraine's agriculture-centric economy will implode. "If you don't get this port issue resolved and open, Ukraine's economy completely collapses," Beasley said at the SABEW conference in New York. Asked if Russia is similarly weaponizing food, the UN's Beasley said that would be the case if the ports are not swiftly reopened.

Source: CNN May 13, 2022 06:33 UTC