"A lot of lies": how the US is trying to blame Russia for the food crisis

US attempts to shift responsibility for the food crisis to Russia are absurd, said Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov.

His words are quoted by the Russian diplomatic mission in its Telegram channel.

“Attempts to shift all responsibility onto Russia are absurd.

As always, a lot of lies.

The statements are unprofessional, without proper analysis and understanding of the situation, or rather, the desire to understand the essence of the problem,” the diplomat said.

Thus, Antonov commented on the words of the head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, who on the air of the American television program PBS NewsHour accused Russia of provoking the world food crisis.

“The reason for the huge jump in food prices that we have been observing since February 24 is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (as the West calls the special military operation of the Russian Federation.

) and this completely deliberate blockade (we are talking about the export of grain from Ukrainian ports. -

).

All that was needed was security guarantees for all ships in transit, and these security guarantees would then be reflected in insurance rates, ”said the head of USAID, answering a journalist’s question, does she recognize that US sanctions against transport companies that exported Russian grain, as well as other similar restrictions, "contributed to the growth of world food prices."

As Antonov explained, the current situation with the shortage of agricultural products in the world has developed due to a number of factors: in particular, due to the consequences of the pandemic, disruptions in supply chains, inflation, accelerated urbanization, accumulated soil fatigue, and also due to climate change.

However, as the Russian ambassador emphasized, a separate place in this list is occupied by an array of illegal anti-Russian sanctions.

“The restrictions are deliberately designed to confuse and intimidate foreign companies, to make it as difficult as possible for their cooperation with Russian enterprises,” Antonov emphasized.

Earlier, the Russian Embassy in the United States called on the United States authorities to take concrete steps to ensure that Russian food and fertilizer supplies are excluded “from direct and indirect sanctions restrictions.”

• Symbols of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Legion Media

• © Pavlo Gonchar / SOPA Images / Sipa USA

The efforts of the Russian side

At the same time, despite the restrictions, Russia continues to work to strengthen global food security, Anatoly Antonov said.

According to him, the Russian side is a reliable and responsible supplier of products to the global agricultural market, makes contributions to the UN World Food Program fund, and also actively works with foreign colleagues.

“During the recent tour of Foreign Minister Lavrov to African countries, our partners confirmed the rich, mutually beneficial and fruitful nature of the meetings.

Let me remind you that we are talking about such states as Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia,” the Russian ambassador added.

He also recalled the signing on July 22 of a memorandum between Russia and the UN to promote the export of Russian agricultural products.

According to Antonov, U.S. officials "prefer not to talk about it at all" because Washington appears to have "never been able to come to terms" with its absence from the quadripartite initiative to safely transport grain and food from Ukraine's ports.

“For our part, we can only welcome the resumption of agricultural shipments across the Black Sea.

We hope that the Ukrainian side and its curators in the West will not try to undermine this process.

Stop playing saints when it comes to prioritizing supplies to starving developing countries.

In the end, as far as we know, two out of three dry cargo ships that left Ukrainian harbors this morning are heading for Europe, ”Antonov said.

Recall that on July 22 in Istanbul, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry, Sergei Shoigu, took part in the signing of two interconnected documents designed to solve the problems of supplying food and fertilizers to world markets.

This package includes a memorandum that implies UN commitments to lift restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets, as well as a document defining the algorithm for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products from the Black Sea ports controlled by Ukraine.

“The latter is based on the algorithm proposed by the Russian Federation, which provides for a maritime humanitarian corridor through which commercial ships can safely proceed to Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea ports and back,” the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry said.

As part of this food initiative, a joint coordination center was established in Istanbul, where representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN monitor the routes of ships with Ukrainian grain and conduct ship inspections.

The first dry cargo ship left the port of Odessa on August 1.

"To justify the policy of pressure"

As Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, despite the efforts made by Russia in the field of food security, the United States continues to promote the topic of Russia's alleged responsibility for the current situation with the shortage of agricultural products in the world.

“The United States unfoundedly blames Russia for this, ignores its steps to resolve the food crisis, in order to further demonize the Russian Federation, to complement its image as an evil empire, which is actively cultivated in the United States.

All this is necessary to justify the policy of pressure on Russia and its containment, ”the expert noted.

According to Blokhin, Washington deliberately artificially inflates the problem with the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea ports in order to "disguise its pernicious role in the food crisis."

• White House

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Rudy Sulgan

“The fact is that about 5-6 million tons of Ukrainian wheat and another 7 million tons of corn in any case could not solve the problem of the global food crisis, which was caused not by Russia’s actions, but, in particular, by the consequences of the spread of COVID-19, US anti-Russian sanctions, as well as other destructive processes,” the analyst said.

Blokhin also noted that now that Russia has managed to move forward in solving the problems of supplying food and fertilizers to world markets by signing a package of documents in July, Washington has decided to intensify its attacks on the Russian Federation and accusations against it in order to devalue Moscow's efforts.

“The United States is thus pursuing its geopolitical interests, which they disguise as concern for food security around the world.

But if Washington were really concerned about this, it would note the anti-Russian sanctions that negatively affect supply chains and exacerbate the situation associated with the shortage of agricultural products in the world.

This is another example of the US double standards policy,” Blokhin believes.

In turn, as political analyst Alexander Asafov said, Washington is angry that the problem around the supply of grain from the territories controlled by Ukraine was resolved without the participation of the United States "to the extent possible."

“Instead of celebrating the positive developments thanks to the efforts of Russia, Washington comes up with another batch of accusations.

At the same time, the United States does not say anything about the fact that it was the Armed Forces of Ukraine that mined the shipping routes and held foreign ships with food without letting them out of the ports, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

Asafov emphasized that by imposing sanctions restrictions on companies associated with the transportation of Russian grain, the United States assumes some responsibility for disrupting supply chains and food supplies in the world.

“But instead of promptly lifting such sanctions, Washington, in the absence of any logic, unfairly lays responsibility on Russia for the situation with the shortage of agricultural products in the world.

The United States has a desire to accuse the Russian Federation of everything that is possible, while not bothering to present evidence, ”the analyst said.

Despite the fact that Moscow reasonably fends off Washington's attacks against it, the United States will not stop accusing Russia of provoking a food crisis around the world, Asafov is sure.

“Their task is to denigrate the Russian Federation, and here all means are good for Washington.

Disinformation, any available methods and accusatory attacks are used.

Unlike our American colleagues, who are obsessed with the desire to present Russia as a global evil, the Russian Federation is as open as possible to dialogue and, through the mediation of the UN, reaches the agreements necessary for the world in order to resolve the situation around the food crisis, ”concluded the expert.