The wheat war: Moscow's refusal to allow grain exports from Ukrainian ports was sharply criticized today (Wednesday) when Britain claimed it would not agree to lower sanctions on Moscow in exchange for opening a Russian naval blockade of Ukraine for wheat exports.
The British Minister of Defense, Ben Wallace, called on Moscow to allow the export of grain from Ukraine but stressed that his country opposes the removal of sanctions in exchange for the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
"Russia must do the right thing and in the spirit of humanity allow a corridor beyond the grains of the Black Sea ports," Wallace said during a meeting with Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
"This wheat is for everyone, Libya, Yemen and for people around the world who are having a hard time feeding themselves," the British minister said.
His remarks came in response to a statement by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rubnenko, who said earlier that his country was ready to consider opening a "maritime humanitarian corridor for food exports from Ukraine" if the West lifted heavy economic sanctions on it following its February invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian proposal and Western pressure come just weeks before the start of the harvest season in Ukraine, one of the largest wheat producers in the world and at a time of drought, heat waves and floods have already caused significant damage to wheat harvest in West Asia.
Global fear of a sharp rise in grain prices and severe hunger in countries that rely on cheap grain due to conditions of poverty and scarcity.
Wheat harvest in Egypt, the fortress severely damaged productivity, Photo: AP
But rising food prices in a period of global inflation and rising fuel prices could also affect political stability in Western countries and lead to an ongoing economic crisis in some European countries.
Moscow is aware of the power of Ukraine's wheat tap control and is doing everything in its power to exploit it in favor of the Russian war in Kiev.
The American news network CNN yesterday unveiled a series of satellite images proving that Russia is loading Ukrainian wheat cargo ships stolen from reservoirs that fell to Russia in the territories it occupied in eastern Ukraine.
There are now fears that Russia will also act to steal the wheat that will be produced in the coming harvest in eastern Ukraine, harming local farmers and grain buyers around the world.
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