UN, July 21 representative of the Russian Federation when organizing Dmitry Polyansky.
“During the operation of the Black Sea initiative, a total of 32.8 million tons of cargo was exported, of which more than 70% went to countries with high and upper middle income levels, including the EU. The share of the poorest countries, in particular, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia, accounted for less than 3%,” Polyansky said.
According to him, such a geography and commercialization of the initially humanitarian initiative becomes understandable, «given that the owners of a significant part of Ukrainian arable land (more than 17 million hectares) are Western corporations Cargill, DuPont and Monsanto.»
As the diplomat pointed out, «it was they who bought Ukrainian lands after Kiev lifted a 20-year moratorium on their sale at the request of the IMF and became the main beneficiaries of Ukrainian grain exports.»
“On the other hand, Europeans who buy Ukrainian food at dumping prices, then process it at home and resell it as finished goods with high added value. That is, they earn twice. Tell me, what does the task of providing food to the poorest countries, which we heard about again today, have to do with it,” Polyansky asked.
Russia had previously notified Turkey, Ukraine and the UN that it was terminating the grain deal effective July 18, which involved the export of Ukrainian grain and food, as well as fertilizer across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The grain initiative was an integral part of the package deal. The second part — the Russia-UN memorandum, designed for three years — provided for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, among the main tasks were the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and a number of other measures. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the terms of the deal with Russia were not fulfilled, despite the efforts of the UN, because the Western countries were not going to keep their promises. Putin also repeatedly pointed out that the West exported most of the Ukrainian grain to their states, and the main goal of the deal — the supply of grain to needy countries, including African ones — was never realized.
After the cessation of the Black Sea grain initiative and the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, all ships en route to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea waters are considered as potential carriers of military cargo from midnight on July 20, 2023 and are considered involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime, the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier.