Europe’s initiative only benefits itself, says Russian State Duma speaker
Russia has criticized the EU’s proposal to empty Ukraine’s grain stores, saying such a move would only serve its member countries while leaving Ukrainians without reservations.
The response came after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that Ukraine needed help in the production and export of cereals and wheat, adding that the EU would help the country to empty its grain stores to free up space for the next harvest.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also called on the United States to ease sanctions on the export of potash fertilizer from Russia and Belarus in exchange for Russia obtaining permission to shipment of wheat from Ukraine.
However, these proposals only benefit the West, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said.
“People in Ukraine will be left with no grain reserves, and as far as the future harvest is concerned, firstly, they still have to live to see it, and secondly, they have no diesel fuel or gasoline to sow. “, Volodin said.
“Only European countries would benefit from such a cynical proposal. The desire to get potash fertilizers from Russia (they do not have their own) again concerns them.
The politician went on to note that Russia has always stood for mutually beneficial cooperation and especially for its development, but warned that further sanctions “will not end up doing anything good for Europe”, adding that, apart from energy problems, the world will face food shortages by the end of the year, and that these problems will not be pinned on Russia.
“Brussels supported Washington’s sanctions policy. In return, they received a price increase on behalf of Biden,” concludes Volodin.
Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that kyiv regularly sends grain, corn, oilseeds and farm animals to Romania in exchange for foreign weapons and ammunition, amid shortages in the country. food and agricultural products.
“All this is happening with a severe shortage of food for their own population, as well as the absence of grain crops in most parts of Ukraine for the spring sowing campaign,” said Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Management Center.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has raised fears of global grain shortages, with wheat prices hitting multi-year highs since March. Russia and Ukraine are major wheat suppliers, accounting for some 30% of world exports.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the republics from the Donbass of Donetsk and Lugansk. The Minsk Protocol, brokered by Germany and France, was designed to give breakaway regions a special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. kyiv insists the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied claims it planned to retake the two republics by force.
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