Peskov: Russia has been and remains a reliable supplier

Despite the sanctions pressure, Russia has been and remains a reliable supplier. This was stated by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

The spokesman commented on the words of the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who declaredthat Russia seeks to make countries dependent on its grain. “Russia is fulfilling all its obligations. It could do this even more, satisfying the growing demand, if it were not for the sanctions restrictions that are illegal from the point of view of international law that we have to face,” Peskov said.

In his statement, Borrell noted that Moscow is “approaching vulnerable countries with bilateral offers of grain supplies at reduced prices, pretending to solve a problem that it has created.” He also called it “the cynical policy of deliberately using food as a weapon”.

On July 17, Russia left the grain deal, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin explained this by the failure to fulfill the second part of the agreement, which concerns, among other things, the lifting of restrictions on the supply of Russian products.

August 2 Peskov declaredthat Russia is “ready to immediately return” to the grain deal as soon as it is implemented in terms of Russian conditions. The same has been repeatedly stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Forum on July 27, Putin assessed the results of the agreement. According to him, during the year of the deal, 32.8 million tons of cargo was exported from Ukraine, of which 70% went to high-income countries. At the same time, according to his data, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other African countries accounted for less than 3% of the total supply – less than 1 million tons.