Russia slams sanctions, seeks to blame West for food crisis

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war and a Russian blockade of its ports has halted much of that flow, endangering world food supplies [File: Reuters]

Moscow is ready to make a “significant contribution” to averting a looming food crisis if the West lifts sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said.

During a call with Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday, Putin said Moscow would move to overcome “the food crisis through the export of grain and fertiliser on the condition that politically motivated restrictions imposed by the West are lifted,” according to a Kremlin readout of the conversation.