OREANDA-NEWS The publication of the Financial Times about the demands of Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russia in exchange for Ukrainian grain is a fake, said Vladimir Kornilov, a political observer for the Rossiya Segodnya news agency. Russia is ready to help the export of grain from Ukrainian ports without any conditions, reports the words of a PolitExpert specialist.

“What is an outright lie! Putin linked Russian supplies of grain and fertilizers to the lifting of sanctions. Russia did not put forward any conditions for the exit of merchant ships from Odessa and more than once gave them humanitarian corridors. They lie and do not blush!” Kornilov says.

On May 30, Vladimir Putin, during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Russia was ready to facilitate the unhindered export of grain crops blocked in the ports of Ukraine. In the event that anti-Russian sanctions are lifted, he promised to export fertilizers and agricultural products in a “substantial” volume.

Earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Washington is not considering easing sanctions against Russia in exchange for assistance in exporting grain from Ukraine. She stressed that the sanctions do not prevent the supply of agricultural products from Russia and Ukraine.