Envoy Rejects US’ Accusations That Russia Exacerbates Global Food Problem

The reaction by US authorities to an attack on the port of Sevastopol is appalling, the Russian diplomat told the media. "Washington's reaction to the terrorist attack on the port of Sevastopol is truly outrageous. We have not seen any signs of condemnation of the reckless actions by (Ukraine). Instead, all the indications that the British military specialists were involved in organizing today's massive strike with the use of drones, are disregarded," the envoy said as quoted by the embassy’s press service on its Telegram channel, TASS reported.

"The situation has escalated even further. But in the US, they do not intend to acknowledge this. Again, everything is reduced to false accusations that our country is exacerbating the global food problem."

In the face of "attacks and provocations against Russian military and merchant vessels involved in the 'Black Sea Initiative', we cannot turn a blind eye to security issues and continue working. It is unfair to condemn Russia for suspending the implementation of the deal. This happened because of the reckless actions by the Ukrainian authorities," the diplomat added.

"As for the insinuations about 'provoking' hunger, we would like to remind you of our repeated calls to send food shipments, first of all, to countries in need. Instead, however, a good half of all carriers under the 'grain deal' went to developed countries. While Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan and Afghanistan received only about 3% of the volume of agricultural products," Antonov pointed out.

He also noted that Russia’s agricultural sector "continues to face serious problems against the background of unilateral Western sanctions, despite all the declarations by Washington and Brussels about the alleged absence of any restrictions."

"Russia, as one of the world's leading agroproducers, remains a reliable and responsible supplier to global markets. We have proved this by our concrete actions. It is obvious to reasonable politicians, as well as to ordinary people that those who hinder our supplies are the ones exacerbating hunger. Moreover, Washington and its satellites with their steps and rhetoric are encouraging (Ukraine) to carry on with its military escalation. This only contributes to the protraction of the conflict, delaying the possibility of its settlement at the negotiating table," the Russian ambassador concluded.

Earlier on Saturday, US President Joe Biden said that, in his opinion, Moscow had no reasons to suspend the implementation of the grain deal. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to resume its participation in the grain initiative, asserting that Russia’s actions were "weaponizing food."

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine, guided by British experts, had carried out a terrorist attack on the warships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels in Sevastopol, using nine drones and seven marine autonomous surface vehicles which were all eliminated. The ministry pointed out that the attacked ships were involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor as part of the international initiative on exporting agricultural products from Ukrainian ports.

On Saturday, Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev said that Russia, with Turkey’s participation, was ready to supply free of charge up to 500,000 tons of grain to the poorest countries within the next four months.