US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lastweek accused Russia of using food as a weapon by holding "hostage"supplies for not just Ukrainians, but also millions of people around the world.Moscow rejects this allegation.
"The most important (thing) is todeblock the Black Sea. This is a call on Russia," von der Leyen toldReuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
Von der Leyen, who is president of theEuropean Union"s executive, said a food crisis was approaching at full speedand some sort of dialogue with Moscow was needed to unlock 20 million tons ofwheat stuck in Ukraine.
"It cannot be in Russia"s interestthat, because of Russia, people are dying of hunger in the world," shesaid, adding that a solution to create food corridors needed to be found.
"I think we should first of all lookat the dialogue with Russia, whether there is not an agreement that this wheatgets out of Ukraine", the European Commission head said.
Russia and Ukraine together account fornearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Ukraine is also a major exporterof corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil.
Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus, which havebacked Moscow"s "special military operation" in Ukraine, account formore than 40% of global exports of potash, a key crop nutrient.
Von der Leyen said the European Unionshould also step up its own production, making it easier for farmers to have asecond crop or to increase wheat production.
RECONSTRUCTION
Ukraine is top of the agenda at this year"sgathering of more than 2,000 business and political leaders, NGOs andacademics, with President Volodymyr Zelensky holding the de facto openingspeech.
By contrast, no Russian companies or stateinstitutions have been invited to the annual event in the Swiss Alpine resort.
With regard to the funding of Ukraine"sreconstruction after the war, the EU is considering making use of frozenRussian central bank and oligarchs" funds, von der Leyen said.
"The basic feeling of fairness tellsus we should look and we do look into that," she said.
The Baltic states have been calling for theconfiscation of Russian assets, including central bank reserves of $300 billion,but it is unclear if this would be legal for the EU to do.
On May 3, Ukraine estimated the cost ofreconstruction at $600 billion.
"It is not trivial but...thedestruction of Ukraine was done by Russia"s completely unjustified war, andtherefore, if the whole world steps up to reconstruct Ukraine, Russia shouldalso carry its fair share," she added.
Von der Leyen did not want to comment onwhat conditions would constitute a sufficient basis for Ukraine to accept anagreement about an end of the war.
"There is one important principle: Itis Ukraine that defines and decides what they conceive as - this is for us theend of the war, this is acceptable. It is Ukraine, that decides on that,"she said.
