Biden announced the search for an opportunity to deliver 20 million tons of grain.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a briefing in the capital of Oman that the Ukrainian authorities are blocking dozens of ships in their ports, including heavy trucks with wheat.
According to diplomats, Kiev suppresses all attempts by Russia to withdraw ships along humanitarian corridors. At the same time, wheat must be delivered to various countries of the world, according to Izvestia.
Lavrov explained that the exit routes of ships from the ports are mined, so they cannot leave without the consent of Kiev. And proposals to create corridors ”for the withdrawal of these vessels with the necessary goods” are ignored by Russia.
“The Ukrainian side does not cooperate, and its Western hosts do not react to this in any way,” the Foreign Minister explained.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden said that the country is trying to export 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine.
The politician recalled the soaring food prices, which reached record values.
Biden believes that the reasons are that both Russia and Ukraine are the world’s largest suppliers of grain and corn.
“We are exploring ways to bring this grain back to the world market,” Biden told CNBC.
According to Politico, US lawmakers have called on the Biden administration to create humcorides in the Black Sea, through which blocked vessels could leave.
The media explains that local farmers will simply have nowhere to store the new crop. And the corridor to the sea remains the only option to overcome the crisis.
Legislators are confident in the need to supply sufficient food in the face of sky-high global food and delivery costs. And Washington has a narrow window for action against the background of the deteriorating situation in Ukraine.
In turn, the speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said that it is the United States that is delaying military actions in Ukraine and “arranges a prodrazverstka and Holodomor in the country”.
Earlier, Topnews wrote that in early April, Deputy Head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev urged compatriots not to buy products from unfriendly countries.