Russian President Vladimir Putin said that accusations against Russia about the responsibility for the food crisis in the world are an attempt to shift the problem "from a sick head to a healthy one."

In an interview with the journalist of the Russia 1 TV channel Pavel Zarubin, the head of state recalled that the unfavorable situation on the world food market began to take shape long before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. 

“It began to take shape as early as February 2020 in the process of combating the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, when the world economy, the world economy sank and it was necessary to restore the world economy,” Putin said.

The President drew attention to the fact that at that time the US authorities decided to “take the path of injecting large amounts of money” in support of the population and certain sectors of the economy - in less than two years, the total money supply in the United States grew by 38.6%.

As Putin recalled, the US Treasury Secretary admitted that they had made a mistake.

“So this is a mistake of the US financial and economic authorities, it has nothing to do with Russia's actions in Ukraine.

And this was the first step, a very serious step towards the development of an unfavorable situation on the food market, because, first of all, food prices went up,” the Russian leader explained.

  • kremlin.ru

In addition, Putin noted the short-sighted policy of European countries in the energy sector.

According to him, the West began to speculate on people's natural anxiety about the state of the climate, promote a "green agenda" and downplay the importance of traditional forms of energy.

“Banks have stopped lending because they are under pressure.

Insurance companies stopped insuring relevant transactions.

Local authorities stopped issuing plots of land for the expansion of production, reduced the construction of specialized transport, including pipelines.

All this has led to underinvestment in the global energy sector, and as a result, price increases,” the President explained.

In addition, Europe has not heeded Moscow's insistent requests to maintain long-term contracts for the supply of natural gas to European countries, Putin said.

The increase in gas prices caused a jump in fertilizer prices, after which many enterprises became unprofitable and closed, the volume of fertilizers on the world market fell sharply, and prices rose, he explained, noting that Russia had warned of such a scenario.

In addition, after the start of the Russian special operation, Europe and the United States began to take steps that aggravated the situation on the world fertilizer markets, Putin said.

He noted that such actions are "an absolutely short-sighted policy that leads to a dead end."

“The yield depends on the amount of fertilizer.

As soon as it became clear that there would be no our fertilizers on the world market, the prices for fertilizers and food immediately went up, because if there are no fertilizers, then there is no necessary volume of agricultural production.

Our partners themselves have made a lot of mistakes, and now they are looking for someone to blame, and, of course, in this sense, Russia is the most convenient candidate, ”Putin stressed.

Export of grain from Ukraine

During the interview, Putin also called a bluff allegations that Moscow allegedly prevents the export of Ukrainian grain.

He recalled that the product can be exported through the ports under the control of Ukraine, the approaches to which were mined by Kyiv. 

“I have already told all our colleagues many times: let them clear mines - and please, let the ships loaded with grain leave the ports.

We guarantee their peaceful passage without any problems into international waters... We will not use the demining situation to launch any attacks from the sea, I have already said about this, ”Putin stressed.

In addition, he confirmed that Moscow is ready to ensure the export of grain through the Russian-controlled ports of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, having created the necessary logistics.

Putin also recalled that it is possible to export grain through Romania, Hungary and Poland.

At the same time, Putin called the export through the territory of Belarus the easiest way.

“The easiest and cheapest, because from there - immediately to the ports of the Baltic states, to the Baltic Sea and further, to anywhere in the world.

But for this it is necessary to remove sanctions from Belarus... So there is no problem with the export of grain from Ukraine, ”the president explained.

The head of state stressed that Moscow does not intend to set any conditions for the export of grain through Russian-controlled ports. 

“Please, we will ensure peaceful transportation, guarantee the safety of approaches to these ports, ensure the entry of foreign ships and their movement along the Azov and Black Seas in any direction,” Putin said.