The proposal to use the territory of Belarus for the export of Ukrainian grain is unacceptable for Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on June 6, answering a question & #171;Ukrinform».
«As for Belarusians, this information is open. We were offered to go through Belarus by rail. Yes. We understand even how much. We understand why we were offered this. We are not yet ready to follow this format and help our «friendly» neighbors», — he said.
Zelensky said today that Ukrainian seaports blocked by Russian invaders can be guaranteed to be unblocked for grain export if Ukraine receives anti-ship missiles.
< p>On June 3, Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power in Belarus since 1994, in a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General António Guterres, said that Belarus was ready to provide its territory for the supply of Ukrainian grain to the ports of the Baltic countries, but asked for an opportunity to load and goods from Belarus», although the country is under EU sanctions.
Context:
In March, due to the Russian blockade of ports in the Black Sea, grain exports from Ukraine ceased. According to Zelensky, more than 22 million tons of grain intended for these purposes were blocked in the ports. Ukraine and the world community are now looking for ways to resume export. So far, the state, together with international partners, has managed to establish two alternative land-based food supply routes years.
The Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, said that the war in Ukraine could lead to an increase in world food prices, which would lead to catastrophic consequences for the poorest segments of the population in different countries. He said that Yemen, Syria, Tunisia and Lebanon are very dependent on grain supplies from Ukraine.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrei Rudenko said on May 25 that Russia is ready to provide passage for ships with food from the ports of Ukraine, but the solution to the problem & # 171; requires a comprehensive approach, including the removal of sanctions restrictions that were imposed on Russian exports and financial transactions».
The UK and US rejected the idea. The Office of the President of Ukraine noted that, demanding the lifting of Western sanctions for unblocking the ports of Ukraine, the authorities of the Russian Federation confirmed the impact of restrictions on the Russian economy.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, in an interview that was released on June 3, argued that Russia allegedly guarantees «peaceful passage without any problems to international waters» for ships with grain, including from Odessa, and «will not use the demining situation in order to launch any attacks from sea».
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine was ready to create conditions for the resumption of exports from Odessa, but «the question is how to make sure that Russia does not use the trade route to attack the city of Odessa».
It is known that Russia is stealing Ukrainian grain and trying to sell it on the world market.