Russia calls on US to lift Belarus fertilizer embargo to tackle global agricultural crisis

As the ravaging war in Eastern Europe continues unabated, Russia has called on the United States to work towards lifting sanctions on Belarusian fertilizers if it really cares about tackling the global agricultural crisis. "If Washington really wants to improve the situation in the global agricultural market, let us cooperate. Stop blaming Russia for all the troubles. We are ready to work together to improve the situation in all countries of the world," Russian diplomat Anatoly Antonov wrote in an article published in The National Interest, Sputnik reported. He further stated that Russia is also ready to export grain from the ports under its control. 

"There are also opportunities to use transport corridors through Poland, Romania, and Belarus. The only thing that the latter option requires is a sanction lift on Belarusian fertilizers," the Russian ambassador to the US noted. Antonov also claimed that while Western sanctions have exacerbated the food situation, the West has chosen to blame Russia for rising food and energy prices across the globe. Furthermore, he mentioned the Western focus on renewable energy sources as a contributing factor to the situation.

Russia is not obstructing food exports from Ukraine: Ambassador Antonov

According to  Antonov, the problem has been compounded further by a Western-led drive to hasten the international community's transition from traditional energy sources to renewable energy sources, without taking into consideration the socio-economic dynamics of individual countries and regions.

"The attempts to make a quick leap to 'green' energy drove up the cost of agricultural products as well as resource-intensive mineral fertilizers," he noted, as per Sputnik. Meanwhile, he also claimed that Russia is not obstructing food exports from Ukraine, and instead, it is Kyiv that has blocked cargo ships from their ports in the Black Sea. 

Lithuania opposes passing of Ukrainian grain via Belarus to Baltic ports

Meanwhile, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has stated that grain from Ukraine cannot be transported to the Baltic ports through Belarus. He further asserted that there is a need to look for other alternatives as Belarus has been supporting Russia's unjustified attack on Ukraine. Nauseda went on to say that he did not see the prospect of resuming Belarusian fertilizers transit through Lithuania, a condition that President Aleksandr Lukashenko has set for the delivery of Ukrainian grain through Belarus. 

(Image: AP)