In a quid pro quo, Russia's deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko has said that if sanctions are lifted, Russia is willing to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine.
Ukraine's Black sea ports are blocked since Russia invaded the country in February. The Russian military, which maintains a naval fleet in the Black Sea, has effectively blocked commercial shipping at Ukrainian ports.
According to a report, more than 20m tonnes of grain are stuck in silos in the country, raising concerns about famine in countries dependent on the supplies.
Earlier G7 government had warned that the Russian president is pushing 43 million people towards famine by refusing to allow cereals to leave Ukraine via Black Sea ports.
“We have repeatedly stated on this point that a solution to the food problem requires a comprehensive approach, including the lifting of sanctions that have been imposed on Russian exports and financial transactions,” Rudenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
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“And it also requires, Rudenko added, the demining by the Ukrainian side of all ports where ships are anchored. Russia is ready to provide the necessary humanitarian passage, which it does every day,” The Guardian reports.
Recently, the World Food Programme (WFP) had urged for a “political solution” as the closure of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea continues to threaten food supplies – and millions of lives – around the world.
Without it, the threat to global food security posed by the ongoing war will result in “famine, [the] destabilization of nations as well as mass migration by necessity”, WFP’s Executive Director, David Beasley was quoted as saying by reports.