“Russia Doesn’t Care If The World Goes Hungry”: US After Putin Suspends Grain Deal

Washington:

The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of deciding to let the developing world “starve” after withdrawing from a UN brokerage deal with Ukraine to export grain.

The body overseeing the July deal, also negotiated by Turkey, said grain exports would halt until Wednesday after Russia announced a pullout over the weekend.

“Any decision by the Kremlin to interrupt this initiative is essentially a statement that Moscow does not care,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

“Moscow doesn’t care if the world goes hungry. Moscow doesn’t care if people go hungry. Moscow doesn’t care that the world’s food insecurity crisis has escalated,” he told reporters.

Price said the United States supported UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to revive the treaty and would do “whatever it deems useful to us”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought security guarantees from Ukraine, which he invaded in February, after he accused Kyiv of using a grain corridor to attack Russian ships in Crimea.

Price had accused Russia of “extortion” with the demand a day earlier. Asked on Tuesday whether the United States would support a change in the system, Price said, “the initiative was working.”

He pointed to UN figures that nearly 10 million metric tons have been shipped, helping to reduce global food prices, which rose after the invasion of Ukraine, a global breadbasket.

Price said that “every single ounce” of food benefited the world’s hungry.

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