Moscow Calls EU Lies Sanctions on Russia Do Not Threat Food Security

Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova/PHOTO via Instagram @rusemb_indonesia

JAKARTA - Russia said the statement by a senior European Union (EU) diplomat, Josep Borrell, who said sanctions against Moscow did not affect global food security, was a lie.

Commenting on Borrell's remarks in her article about the Black Sea grain deal, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "the world community must hold (Josep) Borrell accountable for spreading lies."

Zakharova, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Wednesday, August 9, stated that Borrell's statement was not true when he said Russia benefited from the deal and denied the fact that EU sanctions against Russia had no impact on global food security.

Zakharova called Borrell's statement "disinformation and fake".

She said Russia's termination of the Black Sea food deal would limit the EU's opportunities to take advantage of the most vulnerable countries and enrich themselves by reselling Ukraine's cheap grain.

Zakharova emphasized that Borrell had said nothing about needy countries -- which did not receive Russian and Belarusian fertilizers due to EU sanctions -- as well as the long-term impact of EU sanctions on global food security.

She urged the EU to stop disrupting global food markets by imposing more restrictions on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products. She also asked the bloc to stop pretending to be the party most concerned about global food security.

On July 17, Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain deal because some of Russia's demands from the agreement were not fulfilled, namely removing barriers to the export of Russian fertilizers and returning Russian agricultural banks to the SWIFT international payment system.

Turkey, a signatory to the deal, has been trying to roll back the deal and has asked Western countries to comply with Russia's demands.