Germany's Baerbock accuses Putin of using 'grain as a weapon'

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately reinstate the grain agreement with Ukraine.

She called on Putin "to refrain from once again using hunger as a weapon in this brutal war of aggression ... for the sake of peace in the world."

Baerbock's statement on Monday came as she visited the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.

Putin's actions make it clear that the Russian president "has no regard for the most vulnerable around the world," Baerbock said.

She expressed gratitude that, despite the repeated interruptions, the UN and Turkey "have not given up on keeping this agreement alive," Baerbock added.

From the very beginning, it had been made clear that the sanctions imposed on Russia would exclude food and important medicines, Baerbock said. "The fact that the Russian president turns this on its head every time and uses grain as a weapon makes it clear with what brutality he is waging this war."