The Kremlin said on Monday that the West has triggered a global food crisis by imposing the toughest sanctions in modern history on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The war – and the West’s attempt to isolate Russia as punishment – drove up prices for grain, cooking oil, fertilizer and energy.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday that as the global food crisis worsens, Ukraine is in intense contact with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union in an effort to restore grain exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed with the Kremlin’s assessment that the world was facing a food crisis that could cause famine.
“Russia has always been a very reliable grain exporter,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“We are not the source of the problem. The source of the problem that causes hunger in the world is those who impose sanctions on us and the sanctions themselves.”
Russia and Ukraine together account for about a third of the world’s wheat supply.
Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil, while Russia and Belarus, which supported Moscow in the war and are also under sanctions, account for more than 40% of global exports of used potassium in fertilizers.
The United Nations said 36 countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for more than half of their wheat imports, including some of the poorest, including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kremlin said Ukraine had laid explosive mines in its waters, making commercial shipping impossible.
Ukraine has lost some of its biggest ports to Russian occupation, including Kherson and Mariupol, and fears Moscow may try to take a third port, Odessa.
Peskov said that despite the West sending weapons in the opposite direction, Russia did not prevent Ukraine from exporting grain to Poland by rail.
A United Nations food agency official said two weeks ago that around 25 million tons of grain are stranded in Ukraine due to infrastructure difficulties and the blockade of sea ports.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday accused Russia of using food as a weapon, “taking hostages” not only of Ukrainians but also of millions around the world.
source: Noticias
