According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia has accused the European Union of illegally holding around 100,000 tons of Russian fertilizers in various European ports.
In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow will continue its efforts to unblock these fertilizer shipments and will then hand them over free of charge to poor countries.
The accusation comes amid ongoing tensions between Russia and the European Union over the war in Ukraine. Russia has previously complained that Western sanctions have disrupted its ability to export agricultural products, including fertilizers, to global markets.
The EU has denied that its sanctions specifically target Russian food and fertilizer exports, but has acknowledged that some shipments have been affected by the broader sanctions regime.
Russia’s claims about the detained fertilizers highlight the geopolitical and humanitarian dimensions of the global food and fertilizer crisis, which has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Many developing countries, particularly in Africa, have faced shortages of affordable fertilizers, leading to concerns about reduced crop yields and worsening food insecurity.
The Russian government’s pledge to donate the detained fertilizers to poor countries, if true, could be seen as an attempt to portray itself as a responsible actor amid the global crisis, while also putting pressure on the EU to resolve the issue.
However, the veracity of Russia’s claims and the specifics of the situation around the detained fertilizers remain unclear, and the issue is likely to be the subject of ongoing diplomatic negotiations and disputes between Russia and the European Union.