Kremlin: West Should Abolish Illegal Decisions That Prevent Grain Export From Ukraine

Earlier, Russia said it was ready to open humanitarian corridors to unblock Ukraine's sea ports for grain exports only after Kiev has carried out mine clearing at the ports.

The West should abolish illegal decisions that prevent the export of grain from Ukraine, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press briefing on Thursday.

He commented on media reports which said that Western countries have been accusing Russia of blocking grain supplies from Ukraine to African countries.

"We categorically deny these accusations and, on the contrary, we accuse Western countries of having taken some illegal actions that have led to this blockade", Peskov said.

When asked by a journalist if this means Western countries need to lift sanctions in order for grain supplies to be resumed, Peskov said: "They should cancel those illegal decisions that prevent the chartering of ships, that prevent the export of grain, and so on, and so forth".

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier said that Russia is not preventing the export of grain from Ukraine, while logistical problems have occurred due to Kiev, as its troops have mined seaports. According to the ministry, claims that Russia is deliberately blocking grain exports from Ukraine and thereby provoking a shortage in the grain market are "nothing but speculation".

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Moscow was ready to open humanitarian corridors to unblock Ukraine's sea ports for exports of Ukrainian grain, but Kiev must first ensure that the ports are cleared of mines.

Many countries and international organisations have been calling for unblocking Ukraine's sea ports and releasing grain stuck in warehouses to curb rising food prices and deliver crops to regions that have been facing acute food insecurity.

Commenting on the anti-Russian allegations regarding grain exports from Ukraine, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia said that taking into consideration statements by Western politicians and some media reports, one may arrive at the conclusion that Ukrainian grain is actually being exported both by railway and with the help of barges along the Danube. Nebenzia said that Russia has a reason to suspect that the grain is not being delivered to the "starving global South", but is being transported to some European countries as "compensation" for the weapons supplied to Kiev by the West.