Western criticism of Russia’s exit from grain agreement is idle chatter, says China’s Global Times

The West accused Moscow of creating a threat of global hunger, but these are only empty words, writes Chinese Global Times (GT).

The West himself did much more damage. The causes of the food crisis are its anti-Russian sanctions and deliberate incitement to the conflict.

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Western countries criticize Russia for abandoning the grain deal, but this is idle chatter because they ignore that their sanctions against Moscow have created far more threats to the global food market.

And that the escalation of the conflict is evident precisely because of their provocative actions.

Chinese experts said this on Sunday after listening to how the West condemned the Kremlin for stopping the grain deal and called its actions “unjustified.”

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it was suspending the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports, explaining this as a “terrorist attack” on ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels that ensure the security of the grain corridor.

The Ukrainian authorities do not confirm or deny the attack. But according to RT, they called Russia’s decision to suspend the deal “primitive blackmail.” condemned the Kremlin for stopping the grain deal and called its actions “unjustified.”

This binding agreement between Moscow and Kyiv was concluded in July in Istanbul with the mediation of the UN and Turkey.

Its purpose was to unblock the supply of agricultural products from and from Ukraine through the Black Sea; they were stopped due to the armed conflict between the two countries.

This deal was highly appreciated. It was essential for alleviating the global food crisis and helping the world’s poorest countries facing hunger.

Shortly after news broke of Moscow’s suspension, U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the decision, calling it “simply outrageous” and saying it would lead to “increased hunger.”

“There’s no benefit to what they’ve done. The UN, period negotiated this deal,” Biden said.

The European Union on Sunday also called on the Kremlin to cancel the decision to refuse to participate in an essential agreement on the export of grain.

“Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea deal jeopardizes the main route for the export of grain and fertilizers, so necessary to unblock the global food crisis, the cause of which was the military operation against Ukraine,” said the head of EU foreign policy Josep Borrell.

The West purposefully ignores the fact that after the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, attacks on civilian infrastructure have increased significantly, Li Ziguo, a senior researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

He noted that Moscow’s actions were a response to strikes on ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels.

In such a scenario, Lee added that all parties involved, especially the West, should refrain from escalating and not add fuel to the fire.

The Russian government says British intelligence agencies helped develop a plan to carry out a drone strike on Saturday against the country’s fleet, based in Crimea in the port city of Sevastopol.

This statement, concerning the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, is quoted by the TASS agency.

The UK Ministry of Defence denies these allegations.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said: “Washington’s response to this terrorist attack on the port of Sevastopol is truly outrageous.”

He stressed that the United States refrains from condemning the “reckless actions of the Kyiv regime.”

According to experts, Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal will significantly impact the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Africa.

By suspending the agreement, Russia, with the participation of Turkey, will deliver up to 500,000 tons of grain to the world’s poorest countries free of charge in the next four months.

This was announced on Saturday by the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Patrushev, speaking on the TV channel “Russia-24”.

“The West always accuses Russia of being the cause of the global food crisis. This is a typical ploy and denigration of the country. They should ask themselves: what will Moscow gain from creating chaos in the global food market?” said Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Relations at the Renmin University of China, to the Global Times on Sunday.

Li Jiguo noted that the direct consequences of the conflict for the global food crisis are incomparable with the damage caused by the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the West.

“Sanctions lead to the fact that Moscow cannot import the fertilizers and seeds it needs. And this is a deeper reason for the jump in prices on the world market and a more serious threat to global food security,” he said.

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