Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday stated that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, rolled back by Moscow over the West's failure to fulfill their share of commitments last week, was used by the US and its European allies to "enrich" their businesses instead of serving "its humanitarian purpose".
The Russian leader lashed out at Kiev and its NATO partners in an article shared by the Kremlin.
Putin mentioned that while the US and European nations labeled the grain deal as a "goodwill gesture" to low-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the stocks never reached them as millions of tonnes of grains from Ukraine were diverted to rich Western states.
The Russian leader lashed out at Kiev and its NATO partners in an article shared by the Kremlin.
Putin mentioned that while the US and European nations labeled the grain deal as a "goodwill gesture" to low-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the stocks never reached them as millions of tonnes of grains from Ukraine were diverted to rich Western states.
Ukraine Grain Stocks Diverted to Rich EU States
Elaborating on his point, Putin stressed that under the agreement, Russia allowed nearly 33 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain supplies to pass through ports under its control, but 70 percent of these exports were transported to "high and upper-middle-income countries". Among the beneficiaries were members of the European Union.
Meanwhile, Putin pointed out that nations with catastrophic hunger levels, including Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Yemen, received "less than one million tonnes".
He underlined that after taking into account all these factors, Russia decided to discontinue the deal last week since it was not serving its original humanitarian purpose.
"In the meantime, none of the 'deal' provisions relating to the exemption from sanctions of Russian grain and fertilizer exports to world markets, were fulfilled," the Russian head of state added.
President Putin's comments about the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative come at a time when Ukraine has been pushing the issue in the international community.
Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his visit to Islamabad urged Pakistan to take up the matter with Russia, despite knowing the fact that the South Asian nation had no stake whatsoever in the deal.
Reasons Behind Russia's Decision to Dump Grain Deal
Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly criticized the now-suspended grain deal, primarily for two reasons. Firstly, the supplies never reached the nations that the exports were intended for, and willfully moved to rich European sovereign states.
Secondly, Ukraine and its Western partners never fulfilled the guarantees that Moscow got in return for allowing Ukrainian grain exports.
Despite assuring that Russian food stocks and fertilizers would be given access to international markets, Western sanctions were never lifted and the exports of these items remained frozen.
Moreover, deposits in international accounts of Russian banks are still blocked. Besides, Moscow has also faced hardships importing crude due to the West's ban on its insurance and transportation sector.
Moreover, deposits in international accounts of Russian banks are still blocked. Besides, Moscow has also faced hardships importing crude due to the West's ban on its insurance and transportation sector.