MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. Armenia is planning to reject Russian grain for political reasons in favor of more expensive Ukrainian grain at the expense of the European Union’s funds, the press service of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stated.
"Armenia purchased grain from Russia for many years. Now Armenians, as the saying goes, want to 'decouple' from Moscow for political reasons and provide help to Ukraine - to purchase a portion of required grain volumes from the 'independent' country. However, the catch is that Ukrainian grain is more than 50% more expensive," the SVR press bureau said in a statement obtained by TASS.
"As Yerevan stresses, this is a matter of principle, hedge between keeps friendship green. Brussels is proposed to compensate the surplus of the Ukrainian grain price. The key issue is where to find the funding," the SVR said.
EU countries are on the verge of a social and economic crisis, with budgets strained by the Ukraine conflict and their ambitions to defeat Russia, the SVR press bureau emphasized. "They would like to pay for Ukrainian grain using stolen Russian assets abroad, but these assets have not yet been taken," the SVR said. "Belgium, which manages this 'pooled cash fund,' has opposed the plan, citing potential liabilities. This is a prudent stance, as any such liabilities could be substantial," the federal agency warned.
"The European Union says it would be good to pay and forget, like in a well-known plot from the New Testament. But Yerevan will have to pay on an ongoing basis. That’s Yerevan’s kiss," SVR said, drawing a parallel to the Judas kiss.