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Russia to ensure safe passage for grain ships if Kiev clears waters of mines, Lavrov vows

Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia had done everything to resolve the global food security issue

MANAMA, May 31. /TASS/. Russia’s Navy will provide safe passage for ships carrying Ukrainian grain if Kiev tackles clearing coastal waters of mines, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Bahrain's top diplomat Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani on Tuesday.

"We clarified the measures that Russia has been taking for over a month, providing guarantees for the unhindered export of Ukrainian grain by ships blocked at Ukrainian ports. However, it requires Ukraine to clear the coastal waters of mines, it is in Ukraine’s territorial sea," Lavrov pointed out. "If the mine clearance issue is resolved - and we have been drawing the attention of our Western colleagues concerned about the matter to this fact - then Russia’s naval forces will ensure safe passage for these ships to the Mediterranean Sea and further to their destinations," the Russian top diplomat added.

Lavrov emphasized that Russia had done everything to resolve the global food security issue. "However, Western countries, which created a lot of artificial problems by cutting logistics and financial chains, certainly should seriously think if it is more important for them to whip up PR hoopla on the food security issue or solve the problem by taking specific steps," he noted.

The situation in Ukraine and the large-scale sanctions that the United States and the European Union imposed on Russia have disrupted grain supplies, raising the risk of a food crisis in a number of countries. Wheat and corn prices have risen significantly since the beginning of the year. A UN Security Council meeting on May 21 revealed that global wheat stocks would last for only ten weeks. Lavrov said earlier that the global food crisis, triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and miscalculations by Western countries, had broken out long before the launch of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. According to the Russian foreign minister, that current situation exacerbated the problem and Western sanctions became one of the main reasons for food supply disruptions.

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