• Ukraine is a major exporter of grain, particularly corn and wheat.
• Its production has been stifled by Moscow’s military offensive, causing prices to skyrocket.
• Russia cannot sell its crops and fertilizers internationally because of Western sanctions.

President Vladimir Putin denied Thursday that Russia was to blame for a looming global food crisis caused by the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine, a major exporter of grain, particularly corn and wheat, has seen its production stifled as a result of Moscow’s military offensive, causing prices to skyrocket and fears of food shortages, which will disproportionately affect the poorest countries.

“We have not put any restrictions on the export of fertilizers, nor on the export of food products,” Putin said as he welcomed Indonesian leader Joko Widodo, whose country holds the G20 presidency, to the Kremlin.

Moscow does “not hinder the export of Ukrainian wheat,” Putin said, adding that Russia is “in constant contact” with the UN agency in charge of the issue.

Putin instead blamed Western sanctions imposed on Russia. He said that by targeting the owners of fertilizer companies, Western sanctions have “created conditions that made it much more difficult” to deliver certain products internationally.

Moscow says it would allow Ukrainian ships loaded with food products to leave if the Ukrainian military demined its ports, an option rejected by Kyiv, which fears for the safety of its Black Sea coast.

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For its part, Russia, another grain-producing power, cannot sell its crops and fertilizers because of Western sanctions affecting the financial and logistics sectors.

The Kremlin announced this week that it had “responded positively” to the invitation to the G20 summit to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in November, suggesting that Putin would attend in person.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, however, said after a G7 summit where Widodo was invited, that Indonesia had ruled out Putin’s presence, a statement the Kremlin has rejected.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the terms of Russian participation will be determined after “an analysis of the situation.”

Western countries, led by the US, are pressuring Indonesia to exclude Russia from the meeting, to which Ukraine has also been invited as a guest country.

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