Western states should fix the food problems their restrictions have created, says foreign minister
Moscow is not asking for the sanctions to be lifted, but is urging Western states to fix the problems they have created in the global food market, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.
« We are not asking for the removal of sanctions, these are issues that deserve to be dealt with separately. We will simply develop our economy now relying on reliable partners and not on those who have once again proven their complete inability…
As far as food is concerned, our Western colleagues…should remove the obstacles they themselves created,said the diplomat after talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, in Egypt.
He noted that Moscow would not have accepted Friday’s deal unblocking Ukrainian grain exports if the issue of freeing Russian exports had not been resolved. Moscow is now counting on the UN to keep its promise and help lift the restrictions that are holding back Russian grain shipments.
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« These illegitimate restrictions that have been imposed… have prevented operations with Russian grain, including insurance, including the admission of our ships to foreign ports and the entry of foreign ships into Russian ports,said Sergey Lavrov.
« After the signing of agreements in Istanbul at the initiative of the UN Secretary General, he volunteered to ask for the lifting of these illegitimate restrictions. Count on him to succeed,“, added the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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Lavrov recently accused the West of intentionally « keep quietabout the impact of Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian exports.
At a press conference last month, he said: « There is a problem with the export of Russian grain. Although the West is loudly reminding everyone that grain is not subject to sanctions, for some reason it is shyly silent about the fact that ships carrying Russian grain are subject to sanctions. They are not accepted in European ports, they are not insured and, overall, all the logistical and financial questions, which are linked to the supply of cereals to world markets, are under the sanctions of our Western colleagues.”
Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the UN and Turkey on Friday signed an agreement to unblock exports of grain, food and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports. In addition to the agreement, Russia and the UN signed a memorandum involving the UN’s involvement in lifting restrictions on the export of Russian grain and fertilizer to world markets.
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