Washington: The United States said on Thursday it would not ban the sale of agricultural equipment to Russia, again denying Moscow’s assertion that Western sanctions, not its invasion of Ukraine, were the cause of the global food crisis.
The US Treasury said in an official document regarding the sanctions waivers that it would not stop US transactions related to the production, sale or transfer of agricultural equipment.
Under previous rules put in place after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the US Treasury also said it would not ban agricultural products such as fertilizers or medical devices and COVID-19 tests.
The ministry added in a statement that the expansion of the exemptions “confirms that US sanctions against Russia in response to its unjustified war on Ukraine do not impede agricultural and medical trade.”
She explained that Russian President Vladimir Putin “stifled food and agricultural production and used food as a weapon of war”, including “the theft of grain and agricultural equipment and the blockade of the Black Sea ports.”
The statement followed rare indications of progress between Russia and Ukraine during talks in Turkey over the possibility of allowing food shipments to leave Ukraine.
Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of wheat and other grains in the world, and millions of tons of grain are currently stuck in the ports of the Odesa region due to the presence of Russian warships and mines laid by Kyiv to defend its coasts.
Food prices are rising all over the world and threaten to cause famine, especially in Africa.
