MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Developing countries have no dependence on Russian grain, despite its low price, President of the Russian Grain Union Arkady Zlochevsky told TASS.
"While Russian grain is cheaper than grain from other countries, this is due to a discount. It is ridiculous to claim that some sort of dependency has developed. There is no dependency," Zlochevsky stated. He also noted that the countries who buy Russian grain keep the market competitive.
Earlier, the European Union issued a warning to a group of developing countries, stating that Russia seeks to build dependence through cheap grain imports.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Thursday that Russia has always been and continues to be a reliable supplier of grain, fulfilling all of its commitments in this regard. In response to the assertion of High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, that Russia reportedly seeks to foster developing countries’ dependence through cheap grain supplies, he stated, "This is absolutely not the case. Russia has always been and continues to be a trustworthy supplier, notwithstanding the existing issues <...> Russia fulfills all its obligations."
The Kremlin spokesman also noted that Russia could better satisfy the growing demand for grain, if it were not for illegal sanctions restrictions.
Peskov said on Wednesday that the topics of Ukraine settlement and the continuation of the grain deal will be on the agenda of the planned meeting between Russia’s and Turkey's presidents. He also noted that Russia may return to the fulfillment of the grain deal, but its terms must be met. "For this, European countries simply need to take a number of measures to remove restrictions - disconnecting Rosselkhozbank [Russian Agricultural Bank] from SWIFT and others," he said. "They can be fulfilled quickly and [then] Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the grain deal," Peskov added.
The grain deal ended on July 17. Last week, speaking at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa forum, Putin said that Russia had originally agreed to participate in the deal on the condition that its terms to remove illegitimate obstacles to the supply of grain and fertilizers from Russia to world markets would be observed. But none of these conditions was met.
In turn, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin noted that the grain deal could be resumed "in a new form," but this requires concrete action on the part of the West.