War in Ukraine: Washington considers it “credible” that Moscow “steals” Ukrainian wheat “to sell it” – franceinfo

The head of diplomacy accuses Moscow of stealing the wheat blocked in Ukraine by the conflict to resell it for its profit. Article written by Published on 06/06/2022 23:51 Updated on 06/06/2022 23:52 Reading time: 1 min. Is Russia making money off the back of Ukraine? This is the accusation made by the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken Monday, June 6. The diplomat considers “credible” the information according to which Russia “steals” Ukrainian grain exports, blocked due to 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. >> FRANCE INFO SURVEY. Russian convoys accused of diverting Ukrainian wheat and aggravating “a global food crisis” were tracked. He said Moscow had also begun to keep its own food exports, after imposing a “naval blockade in the Black Sea which prevents Ukrainian crops from being transported” around the world. The New York Times (in English) reported that Washington had warned 14 countries, mainly in Africa, in mid-May that Russian cargo ships were carrying “stolen Ukrainian grain”. Antony Blinken referred to this article from the American daily, without however directly confirming the alert addressed to African countries. The Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara had accused Russia on Friday of “stealing” and exporting Ukrainian cereals, in particular to Turkey. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that 20 to 25 million tonnes of grain were currently blocked in Ukraine due to the war, a volume that could triple by autumn. “We need maritime corridors and we are discussing this with Turkey and the United Kingdom” as well as with the UN, he said. Since February 24, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has pitted two cereal superpowers against each other – Russia and Ukraine together account for 30% of world wheat exports. It caused a spike in the prices of cereals and oils, whose prices exceeded those reached during the Arab springs of 2011 and the “hunger riots” of 2008. Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share by email Share on link