German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw from Ukraine immediately.

“Respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, stop the fighting”, - Steinmeier appealed at the opening ceremony of the Catholic Convention in Stuttgart. “Mr Putin, end the suffering and destruction in Ukraine! Withdraw your troops! And do not refuse direct and serious talks with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky”.

Putin’s war is not only affecting the people in Ukraine. Because millions of tonnes of grain are being blocked in Ukrainian seaports, global grain prices have risen dramatically, Steinmeier said.

“Many places in the world are threatened by hunger and death in the coming months, especially in eastern and southern Africa.

The consequences of Putin’s war are hitting states that have still not recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, and they are hitting regions where soils are drying out and becoming infertile because of the climate crisis”, - added the German president.