KYIV. UkraineGate . 8. September . 2022 | Society.
The statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he threatened to restrict the export of grain from Ukraine, once again shows that food, like gas, is a matter of blackmail. It is also quite likely that Russia seeks to “bargain” additional conditions for itself.
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“Putin’s strange statement that he was allegedly deceived and that Ukraine supplies grain to EU countries, and not to countries that need Ukrainian grain. It’s similar to how it used to be with gas. Even before the full-scale invasion, Putin began to limit the supply of gas through Nord Stream 1 and the Druzhba oil pipeline, citing the fact that European countries export this gas, in particular to Ukraine. That is, it once again proves that the issue of gas and food is a matter of blackmail. It annoys him that Ukraine receives income,” Yakhno said.
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Another possible reason for this statement is that Russia could already sell its part of the grain.
“Because this agreement became possible not only through the mediation of Turkey, but also because Russia itself was interested in selling its grain. And I do not exclude the fact that Russia has already sold a significant part of it. So now they need a review of the agreement, possibly a restriction or complete termination. If so, it proves that any possible agreements with Russia are short-term in nature. Also, the statement may be related to Russia’s desire to obtain additional opportunities. For example, to increase the share of fertilizers or other goods,” the political scientist said.
It is interesting that Putin’s statement referred to the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, with whom he is supposed to consult. According to the political scientist, this may indicate that the Russian dictator wanted to emphasize to everyone that Erdogan takes Russia’s interests into account in the trade issue.
“Putin wants to show that Erdoğan takes into account the interests of Russia in the matter of the tripartite agreement, he knows it, and perhaps there were some non-public agreements. It is also possible that Putin has some additional proposals to Erdogan of an economic nature, which he wants to bring into the “grain agreement”, which is why he appealed to Turkey. After all, in military terms, condemnation of the war and the status of Crimea, Turkey is completely on the side of Ukraine. But with regard to trade, she would not be an intermediary if she did not see her economic benefit here,” Yakhno believes.
Source:Ukrgate