For the United States, it is “credible” that Russia steals wheat from Ukraine to sell it – La Tribune.fr

The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken considered Monday “credible” the information according to which Russia “steals” the exports of Ukrainian cereals, blocked because of the conflict, “to sell them for its own profit”. “It’s all deliberate,” he told a virtual conference on food insecurity, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of “blackmail” to get international sanctions lifted against the invasion. ‘Ukraine. This statement comes as the Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara accused Russia on Friday of “stealing” and exporting Ukrainian cereals, particularly to Turkey. “Russia shamelessly steals grain from Ukraine and exports it from Crimea abroad, especially to Turkey,” Vasyl Bodnar denounced, adding that he had asked for Turkey’s help to solve the problem. ukraine was on the way just before the war to becoming the world’s third-largest exporter of wheat and alone accounted for half of the world’s trade in sunflower seeds and oil Turkey, an ally of Ukraine Turkey is considered an ally of Ukraine to which it provides combat drones, but Ankara is careful to maintain a neutral position towards Russia, on which it depends for its energy and grain supplies, in order to offer mediation between the two countries. offered its assistance, at the request of the United Nations, to secure maritime corridors allowing the export of Ukrainian cereals. kyiv exported each month 12% of the world’s wheat, 15% of corn and 50% of sunflower oil. conflict that blocks exports in silos due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports by the Russian Navy and mines in the Black Sea are driving up prices on agricultural markets and posing a serious risk of famine in the countries that depend on them, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. The quantities of cereals stored could triple This Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, indicated that the quantity of cereals intended for export and blocked in Ukraine because of the war could triple by “by the fall” to reach 75 million tons. “Currently, between 20 and 25 million tonnes of grain are blocked and this autumn this figure could increase to 70-75 million tonnes,” he told reporters. “We need maritime corridors and we are discussing this with Turkey and the United Kingdom” as well as with the UN, specified the Ukrainian president, adding that exports by sea allow the export of 10 million tonnes by month. Ukraine is also discussing with Poland and the Baltic countries to export small quantities of grain by railways, he added. “We need to be able to export cereals and I think we will do that,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin assured last week that there were “no problems exporting grain from Ukraine” referring to ways to export from Ukrainian ports, others under Russian control or via the Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine, which accuses Russia of blocking its ports, rejects these solutions. Ukraine was on the way just before the war to becoming the world’s third largest exporter of wheat and alone accounted for half of the world’s trade in sunflower seeds and oil. Cereals: Russia’s blocking of Ukrainian exports risks tripling kyiv’s stocks (Zelensky)