FILE (Photo by Biden-Harris Presidential Transition/Sipa USA)
WASHINGTON (77WABC) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday accused Russia of a plot to blackmail the west into lifting sanctions.
According to AFP, Blinken accused Russia of ‘exporting starvation’ by mining farmland in Ukraine, blockading Ukrainian food exports and stealing grain to sell around the world. He added that Russia is deliberately blocking 20 million tons of wheat trapped in silos near the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
“There are credible reports… that Russia is pilfering Ukraine’s grain exports to sell for its own profit,” Blinken said at a State Department conference on food security issues arising from the invasion of Ukraine. “Now, Russia is hoarding its food exports as well.”
Blinken also said that Russian warships are deliberately blocking shipments of wheat.
