President Vladimir Putin of Russia has stated that his country is prepared to provide 300,000 tons of fertilizers currently amassed at European Union ports to developing nations free of charge.
According to his statement, massive amounts of fertilizers are help up at EU ports due to “Western” sanctions On Russia, over the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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Putin made the statement at a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan.
“The day before yesterday I informed Mr. Guterres that 300,000 tons of Russian fertilizers had piled up in the European Union’s seaports,” Putin said, adding that Moscow is “ready to give them to developing countries for free,” and that such deliveries would be instrumental in alleviating the global food crisis.”
The President said that he had discussed agricultural export issues with UN Secretary – General Antonio Guterres.
In late July, a UN-brokered talks in Istanbul yielded a deal signed by Moscow and Kiev to unblock Ukrainian grain exports via the Black sea. A part of the deal was to allow Russia deliver fertilizers and food goods to global markets.
RT reported that while Putin welcomed the decision to allow Russian fertilizers into the EU, he criticised Brussels for only allowing the bloc’s member states to buy them.
“It turns out that only they could purchase our fertilizers. What about the developing countries, the poorest countries of the world?” he asked.
Putin went on to ask the UN Secretariat to leverage the EU Commission so that “not in words, but in deeds,” and to demand the removal of these discriminatory restrictions against developing countries by allowing Russian fertilizers to reach emerging markets.
On Thursday, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that the “illegal unilateral sanctions” the West has imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict are still blocking the export of Russian food products and fertilizers to global markets despite earlier agreements.
He also accused EU officials of “selfishness, cynicism and hypocrisy” for prohibiting European carriers from transporting Russian fertilizers to Africa, Asia or Latin America, while allowing deliveries to EU countries.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
