MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Europe of embezzling grain sent to impoverished countries under the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative.

During a Kremlin meeting, the head of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, Andrey Guriev, mentioned that according to the initiative, the grain “was supposed to go to southern countries.”

“But it ended up going to Europe,” Putin responded.

Guriev also stated that a complete refusal by Europe to use Russian fertilizers for over three years could reduce crop yields and increase fertilizer prices by 20–30%, as demonstrated by the US experience.

He said that, as a result, European farmers would have to reduce sowing or request subsidies.

Europe annually imports 17 million tons of fertilizers, including 5.5 million tons from Russia. Europe already has the highest mineral fertilizer prices, and further increases will lead to lower yields and increased financial burden on agricultural producers, he noted.

Putin said that the Black Sea Initiative, launched in 2022, envisaged not only the export of Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports but also the normalization of deliveries of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to international markets.

However, Western countries violated these agreements, he said, and added most of Ukraine's grain was exported to Europe, while obligations regarding Russian products remained unfulfilled. As a result, Russia decided to withdraw from the deal in July 2023.