In what appears to be a negotiation rather than an unconditional promise, Russian President Vladimir Putin played with the idea of reopening the port of Odessa for grain exports, while again calling for the lifting of Western sanctions against Russia.
Putin made the remarks during a call on Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as concerns were exacerbated by an impending food crisis due to Ukraine’s inability to export grain in the midst of the conflict.
The Franco-German impetus for the reopening of Odessa comes weeks after the EU’s agricultural commissioner proposed “alternative routes” to send grain through the Baltic Sea ports in Poland and poured cold water on the idea of establishing humanitarian corridors for exporting Black Sea food.
Macron and Scholz “insisted with President Vladimir Putin on the urgency of lifting the blockade of Odessa to allow the export of Ukrainian cereals by the Black Sea and to prevent a global food crisis,” according to a reading issued by the Palace of ‘Elise the past. Paris. “They took note of the Russian president’s promise to grant ships access to the port for grain exports without Russia exploiting it militarily if it was first cleared of mines,” the French government added.
In the Kremlin’s statement on the call, Putin told the duo that “Russia is ready to help find options for unhindered grain exports, including the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports.” But he added: “Putin explained the real reasons for the difficulties with the food supply, which were the result of the wrong economic and financial policies of Western countries, as well as the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by them.”
“Increasing supply of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also reduce tensions in the global food market, which will of course require the lifting of the relevant sanctions,” the Kremlin said.
The demining is not mentioned in the Russian declaration, contrary to the French declaration.
Separately, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that “we are working hard to find ways to resume grain exports and prevent a global food crisis.”
Zelenskyy said he asked Johnson for defense and fuel support, adding: “We need to work together to prevent a food crisis and unblock ports.”
Before the war, Ukraine was able to export about 5 million metric tons of grain and up to 700,000 tons of sunflower oil a month across the Black Sea. In April, Ukraine managed to export less than 1 million tons of grain.