Let them eat: sanctions and the war of words
On 25 May, the Russian news agency Interfax reported Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s deputy, Andrei Rudenko, as saying that ‘Russia is ready for dialogue to resolve the situation with grain-carrying ships blocked in Ukrainian ports.
‘We are always ready for dialogue with everyone who seeks peace, a peaceful resolution of all problems. I leave the statement by Ursula von der Leyen on her conscience,’ said Rudenko, referencing a recent remark by EU President von der Leyen that Russia was ‘weaponising food’.
‘We have repeatedly said that a resolution of the food problem would require a comprehensive approach, including the lifting of sanctions imposed on Russian exports and financial transactions,’ he said. ‘That would also require Ukraine’s demining of all ports where the ships are. Russia is ready to provide the necessary humanitarian passage, as it is doing every day.’
Rudenko also described recent remarks by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, that it might be necessary to provide naval escorts to freight vessels carrying grain from Ukraine ports, as having the potential to ‘seriously escalate the situation in the Black Sea.’
On the same day, at a meeting in Moscow to mark World Africa Day, Rudenko’s colleague, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, told attendees, including officials from a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, ‘We know that African countries are among the most vulnerable in terms of food security. Some of them are critically dependent on agricultural imports from Russia. We are aware that these supplies are of great importance for maintaining social stability and achieving the benchmarks stipulated by the UN-approved Sustainable Development Goals. I would like to reassure everyone that Russia is fulfilling and will continue to honestly fulfil its obligations under international contracts in terms of export supplies of food, fertilisers, energy and other commodities that Africa needs.’
‘At the same time,’ he said, ‘we call on our friends, the African Union, to strongly demand that the West lift illegal unilateral sanctions that undermine the transport and supply infrastructure that international trade depend on, which creates risks for vulnerable groups of the population.’
‘Blackmail’ and ‘Lies’
In response to the Russian foreign ministry’s statements, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, ‘You have heard from Russian officials a series of lies, a series of disinformation, regarding the issue of food security and the global food supply. Despite those claims, U.S. sanctions are not causing disruptions to Russia’s agricultural exports. The fact is that U.S. sanctions were specifically designed to allow for the export of agricultural commodities and fertilizer from Russia. So we certainly won’t lift our sanctions in response to empty promises, and we’ve heard empty promises before from the Russian Federation. I think we have – all have good reason to be skeptical when we hear various pledges and offers from Russia. This was the same country, of course, that for months maintained that it had no intention of invading its neighbor and taking on this brutal war.’
The Ukraine government has described Russia’s offer to allow for eased exports in return for lifted sanctions as ‘blackmail’.
