WASHINGTON, April 21. /TASS/. A significant portion of Ukrainian agricultural products goes to developed countries, while poor nations get ‘a meager 2.6%,’ the Russian Embassy in Washington said in a statement on Friday.

"We took notice of a new portion of the State Department press office’s insinuations about the alleged sabotage by the Russian side of the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative and controversial ‘weapononization’ of food," the embassy said. "First, we would like to emphasize Washington's stubborn unwillingness to admit the interconnected nature of the Istanbul agreements. Also - to assist in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the United Nations on promoting our food products and fertilizers to the world markets."

According to Russian diplomats, "the execution of this mechanism has lagged, primarily, due to the desire of the collective West to inflict as much damage as possible on our economy through sanctions."

"Incidentally, with similar perseverance, White House is avoiding to notice the growing discontent among developing countries with the direct impact of restrictions on the Global South," the statement says.

The Russian diplomats "consider any claims against the Russian inspection teams as absolutely unfounded."

"The necessary checks under the Black Sea Initiative are carried out in strict accordance with the letter and spirit of the agreements," the embassy said. "Groundlessly accusing us of using food as an instrument of geopolitical pressure, the United States continues to remain silent about the real beneficiaries of the Black Sea Initiative."

"It is an open secret that the lion's share of shipments are effectuated under commercial contracts in the interests of developed nations. While the deliveries of agricultural products to the poorest countries, which the White House is so vigorously concerned about in public, fell to a meager 2.6%," it added.

The Russian embassy emphasized that "the collective West, in a deeply rooted neo-colonial spirit, only cares about its own well-being."

"For instance, fearing competition with cheap grain from Ukraine, the US satellites in Europe are considering and introduction of protectionist barriers to agricultural products from its "sponsored" state. Somehow, Administration prefers to remain silent on this controversial matter," it said. "Despite the above mentioned circumstances, Russian Federation remains a reliable supplier of agricultural products. We will continue to fulfill our obligations under the agreements and remain open to expanding cooperation in the food sector."

Grain deal

A package of documents geared to resolve the problem of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul for a term of 120 days. One of the agreements regulated grain exports from the Kiev-controlled Black Sea ports. Along with that, Russia and the United Nations signed a memorandum envisaging that the UN will take steps to lift various restrictions on exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers on global market. The Russian government has repeatedly pointed out that this part of the deal was not being implemented.

The grain deal was extended for 120 days more in November. On March 18, Russia said that the deal would be extended for 60 days, arguing that this would be enough to assess the implementation of the memorandum with the UN.