MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. The continuation of the crisis in the Middle East threatens to create 45 mln more starving people, with global GDP potentially losing 2%, said Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Alexander Maslennikov in a commentary released by the Security Council’s press service.
The conflict in the region creates risks to Russia’s food security too, he noted.
TASS has gathered the key statements made by the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council.
The continued crisis in the Middle East will place tens of millions of people worldwide on starvation’s doorstep: "In the long term, total losses in global markets could amount to between 0.5% and 2% of global GDP, which is equivalent to losses of between $0.7 and $2.2 trillion, while the number of starving people in the world could increase by 45 mln to a record 673 mln people."
If the existing trends in the Middle East conflict continue until summer, the price of food will go through the roof: "The continuation of the crisis in the Middle East threatens global food security. Experts predict that if the conflict continues until early summer the yield of key agricultural crops could decline by 50% due to a shortage of fertilizers, which will respectively lead to the largest surge in global food inflation in recent years."
