The food crisis was invented by the West and Kiev to blame Russia; in reality there was and is no shortage, Kirill Logvinov, director of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with TASS.
“In Kiev and the West, they actively tried to speculate on the issue of global food security, accusing Russia of undermining it“, the diplomat said. “In reality, it turned out, and this was clearly demonstrated by the implementation of the Istanbul agreements, especially the “Black Sea Initiative“ for Ukrainian grain exports, that there is no shortage of food on world markets“, he noted.
“However, there is a significant increase in supply costs due to anti-Russian sanctions, which have disrupted financial and logistics chains and insurance schemes“, Logvinov noted.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry department noted that “despite hypocritical statements” from Brussels, Washington and London that their restrictions do not apply to Russian agricultural exports, the Europeans and Americans have failed to impose real, legally binding exceptions for Russian grain and fertilizers.
“This has essentially become the main reason for the lack of effect of our joint efforts with the UN to ensure the implementation of the Memorandum between Russia and the UN on the normalization of access of domestic agricultural products to world markets, signed in Istanbul in July 2022“, Logvinov believes. The diplomat recalled that “work on the agreement was completed in July 2025, after the expiration of the envisaged three-year period; the text of the agreement did not provide for a possibility of further extension“.
By interfering in the internal affairs of Iran, Cuba and Venezuela, Western countries are punishing them for their desire for independence, Logvinov also said.
„Unfortunately, modern colonial practices have recently become increasingly entrenched in the arsenal of Western countries, which do not hesitate to use them to maintain their dominance on the world stage. Clear manifestations of this trend are their blatant interference in the internal affairs of Iran, Venezuela and Cuba“, he said. „There is no doubt that these countries are being punished for their desire to pursue an independent foreign policy.“