Blaming West for food and energy crises, Putin ‘guarantees’ peaceful exports from Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for the ongoing food and energy shortages and assured that his country would “guarantee” safe passage of exports from Ukraine-held ports if it is "cleared" of mines by Ukraine.

"There is no problem to export grain from Ukraine," he said in a televised interview, saying it could be done via Ukrainian ports, via others under Russian control, or even via central Europe, reports AFP.

The Russian president assured that his armed forces would not “launch any attacks [on Ukraine] from the sea” while it is being removed from mines.

The Russian leader mentioned the possibility of exporting via the Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov, which gives access to the Black Sea. Both are under Russian control.

He also said ports under Kyiv's control, in particular Odessa, could be used.

Putin said that exports from Belarus is also possible if the West "lifts sanctions" against the Moscow’s ally

Accused the West of "bluster" by claiming Moscow was preventing grain exports from Ukraine, Putin said, “Of course, we are now seeing attempts to shift the responsibility for what is happening on the world food market, the emerging problems in this market, onto Russia,” he told Russian TV.

“I must say that this is an attempt, as our people say, to shift these problems from a sick to a healthy head.”

The Russia-Ukraine war has caused prices of food and fuel to soar, pushing the world towards food scarcity.

Russia and Ukraine are among the most important producers of agricultural commodities in the world. Both countries are net exporters of agricultural products, and they both play leading supply roles in global markets of foodstuffs and fertilisers, where exportable supplies are often concentrated in a handful of countries.

In 2021, Russian and Ukraine ranked amongst the top three global exporters of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Russian stood as the world’s top exporter of nitrogen fertilizers, the second leading supplier of potassium fertilizers and the third largest exporter of phosphorous fertilizers.