Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has warned Barbados and the people of the region to brace for more fallout from the war in Ukraine, especially higher prices, as the conflict drags on.
She was delivering this morning the feature address at the official opening of the Caribbean security conference which is hosted by Barbados and is taking place at the Hilton Resort.
Miss Mottley also called for an overhaul of the United Nations which she notes was formed 76 years ago before some of its current member nations even existed.
The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence, Danny Erickson, who is in Barbados for the conference, praised Caribbean countries for condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Erickson promised the US will continue to be a trusted security partner in the region.
He warned that transnational criminal networks remain a threat to the Caribbean and stressed the need for cooperation in that fight.
The Commander of the US Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, also addressed what she said is a very important conference a critical time.
She called the Russian invasion of Ukraine a flagrant violation of international principles and also noted that Caribbean countries have condemned the Russian attack.
General Richardson said the US will continue to work with Caribbean states to keep the region as zone of peace and she outlined several threats posed by international criminal networks.
