Due to the Russian war against Ukraine, the country’s grain exports are blocked – without them, starvation threatens in several countries. While negotiations are being held in Istanbul, Kremlin chief Putin is now ready for a deal. However, Western sanctions would then also be on the table.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is linking the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports to the lifting of agricultural sanctions against his country. “It should be a package solution,” Putin said during a visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran. “We will support the export of Ukrainian grain, but expect that all restrictions on the export of Russian grain will be lifted,” he said, according to the Interfax agency.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain suppliers in the world. Due to the Russian war of aggression since February 24, however, their exports have been blocked. The country also keeps ports like Odessa on the Black Sea mined to protect against Russian attacks. Representatives of the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey have been negotiating the export of the grain in Istanbul for several days.
Putin said the US has already lifted some sanctions, most notably against Russian fertilizer exports. If Washington really wants improvements in the world market, it should also lift punitive measures against Russian grain exports.
The US government emphasizes that there are no direct sanctions against Russian exports. However, there are uncertainties among the companies that are supposed to finance, insure and transport the exports. As a contribution to the Istanbul negotiations, the US Treasury Department made it clear last week that involvement in Russian fertilizer and grain exports does not mean violating sanctions.
