Antonov Calls for Lifting Belarus Fertilizer Sanctions, Says Moscow Ready to Export Grain

© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev / Go to the mediabankAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United States of America Anatoly Antonov during a briefing at the State Duma of the Russian Federation in Moscow.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United States of America Anatoly Antonov during a briefing at the State Duma of the Russian Federation in Moscow. - Sputnik International, 1920, 17.06.2022
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US should cooperate with Moscow and lift sanctions on Belarusian fertilizers if it really wants to resolve the global agricultural crisis, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an op-ed.
"If Washington really wants to improve the situation in the global agricultural market, let us cooperate. Stop blaming Russia for all the troubles. We are ready to work together to improve the situation in all countries of the world," Antonov wrote in the article published in The National Interest on Thursday. "We are ready to facilitate the smooth export of grain from the ports under our control. There are also opportunities to use transport corridors through Poland, Romania, and Belarus. The only thing that the latter... option requires is a sanctions lift on Belarusian fertilizers."
The ambassador also said that Western sanctions have become a significant adverse factor in the food crisis but the West has chosen to "shift responsibility" for food and energy price hikes by blaming Russia. In addition, Antonov pointed to the Western focus toward renewable energy sources as another factor in the crisis.
"The situation has been further complicated by the Western-led campaign to forcefully accelerate the transition by the international community from traditional energy sources to renewable energy, without taking into account the socio-economic specifics of countries and regions. The attempts to make a quick leap to 'green' energy drove up the cost of agricultural products as well as resource-intensive mineral fertilizers," he said.
Granular potash fertilizer. File photo. - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.06.2022
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Russia, he added, has become a target for accusations that have "nothing to do with reality."
"Our country is being imputed with trying to take steps aimed at deliberately degrading global food security, preventing Ukrainian agricultural exports by sea, and blocking the sowing campaign in that country. It’s time to put an end to these speculations," the ambassador said in the article.
The ambassador noted that back in 2020 the UN warned of the risks of a growing crisis in the global agricultural market. Then prices started to increase and then skyrocketed by 50 percent by this February "before the start of our special operation in Ukraine," he added.
"Twenty million tons of grain supposedly ready for shipment from Ukrainian ports, which our so-called partners constantly refer to, constitute less than 1 percent of the total volume of the global food market. The delay in the export of wheat can be hardly considered a 'catastrophic' development of the overall situation," Antonov wrote.
Wheat - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.06.2022
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It is a matter of concern for Moscow, he added, that Ukraine remains self-sufficient in terms of food security because it corresponds to Russia's national interests.
"We are undertaking the necessary efforts in this regard - assisting farmers in the liberated territories, restoring infrastructure, supplying seeds. At the same time, Russian servicemen are engaged in humanitarian demining of farmland. More than 12,000 explosives on 200 hectares of fields have been deactivated," he said.
Russia, Antonov stressed, is not trying to impede Ukrainian food exports.
"We understand very well the importance of resuming supplies to the countries in need. But the departure of merchant vessels from the Black Sea ports is hampered by the Kiev authorities’ actions," he said. "It was their decision to install around 420 mines. Due to their outdated construction, their anchors often fall off, which only increases their danger."
As a result, Antonov said, dozens of foreign ships remain stuck in Nikolaev, Kherson, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa, and Yuzhny.
"The conclusion is that there are no obstacles from our side. The ball is in Kiev’s court now," the ambassador wrote.
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