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Kremlin dismisses Kiev’s claims that Russia ‘stole’ Ukrainian grain

On June 3, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey asserted that Turkey was among some countries receiving grain that Russia had allegedly ‘stolen’ from Ukraine

MOSCOW, June 23./TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Kiev's allegations Thursday that Russia "stole" Ukrainian grain.

Peskov commented on a statement from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu who said that Ankara had conducted an investigation following Kiev's claims that Russia had sold "stolen Ukrainian grain" to Turkey, to establish that the accusations were not true.

"It is the Foreign Ministry that should be asked. Russia did not steal any grain," Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

On June 23, Cavusoglu dismissed Ukraine’s accusations against Ankara for allegedly buying ‘stolen’ grain from Moscow. He stressed that Turkey took such accusations seriously and conducted a probe, establishing that the grain bought from Russia was in fact Russian. "But we also oppose the illegal sale of [stolen] Ukrainian goods on the international market and don’t allow their sale in Turkey," the foreign minister stressed.

On June 3, in an interview with Reuters, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasily Bodnar asserted that Turkey was among some countries receiving grain that Russia had allegedly ‘stolen’ from Ukraine.

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