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Anti-Russian sanctions do not hinder UN FAO agenda in the region — director-general

Russia has been participating in almost all initiatives that UN FAO has in this region, according to Jose Graziano da Silva

VORONEZH, May 18. /TASS/. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) relies on the countries’ ability to solve problems through dialogue and does not welcome any bans that affect food - including international restrictive measures against Russia, Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the UN FAO told reporters on the sidelines of the 31st session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe held in Russia (Voronezh) for the first time.

"Since I took office I managed not to allow political issues to prevail over the countries. This also applies to Russia. In FAO we do not support any bans of food products and we rely very much on the capacity of countries to have a dialogue to solve their problems. This is the way that we manage the organization," da Silva said in response to a question from TASS.

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"Russia has been participating in almost all initiatives that we have in this region, and has been one of the leading partners in all of them. I would like to highlight Russia’s particular role in antimicrobial resistance. We have started this project in 2017, and now it has gained momentum," da Silva said.

According to da Silva, there are three other crucial initiatives that the organization is endorsing, and that received big support from the countries in the region at the current conference in Russia - family farms, e-commerce, the impact of climate change.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is an agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO Regional Conferences are held once every two years, in years when the global FAO Conference does not hold its regular session. The 31th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe was held in Voronezh on May 16-18.

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