(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin told French and German leaders in a phone call on Saturday that Russia was willing to discuss a solution to allow Ukraine to resume grain shipments from the Black Sea ports, the Kremlin announced.
Russia, one of the world’s leading fertilizer exporters, and Ukraine, a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil, together account for almost a third of global wheat supplies.
“For its part, Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports,” the Kremlin writes.
According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin said he had also informed French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia was ready to increase exports of fertilizers and agricultural products if sanctions against it were lifted.
The Russian president recently made the same proposal to the Italian and Austrian leaders.
Ukraine and Western countries accuse Russia of contributing to the risk of a food crisis by invading its neighbor, which has driven up the prices of grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizers.
Russia, for its part, believes that the current situation is the result of Western sanctions against it.
(Report by Reuters journalists; French version Claude Chendjou)
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