Russia calls for lifting of sanctions to avert global food crisis: diplomat

A senior Russian diplomat on Wednesday demanded the lifting of sanctions on Moscow as a precondition for preventing Ukrainian grain exports since the start of the Kremlin attack.

“A coordinated approach is needed to resolve the food crisis, including the lifting of sanctions on Russian exports and financial transactions,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rodenko was quoted as saying by news agencies. Russians.

He also demanded that the Black Sea ports be “cleared by Kyiv” so that ships could export grain. To this end, the diplomat confirmed that Russia is “ready to establish a humanitarian corridor” for ships.

Ukraine is known for its very fertile black soils, making Ukraine the fourth largest corn exporter in the world before the catastrophe and the way to become the third largest wheat exporter.

But Kyiv and the West allege that the dispute has disrupted Ukrainian agricultural production and that Russia has blocked grain exports through the Black Sea, raising the risk of a serious global food crisis.

On Tuesday evening, the Russian military accused the West of “seeking to obtain cereals from Ukraine as soon as possible (…) without fear of what would happen in the country after the depletion of grain reserves.”