Russia will face the wrath of many countries if it withdraws from the grain deal

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Russia would face “tremendous outrage” and “fury” from many countries if it backed out of a deal that allowed it to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Blinken said during a press conference in Ottawa after a meeting with the Canadian representative, Melanie Jolie, that the agreement signed with Russia to open the port of Odessa is positive, and that two-thirds of the grain exported from Ukraine consists of countries in the south. Hemisphere as a target.

“The idea of ​​Russia saying it doesn’t want to keep it right now is going to cause a lot of outrage and anger in countries around the world that benefit from Ukraine’s grain,” the US diplomatic chief said.

“We will do everything possible to preserve the agreement,” he added.

Moscow assured on Thursday that it has not yet seen full compliance with the UN-proposed Istanbul Memorandum on Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertilizer exports, and that it has not yet decided whether to extend the deal, which expires on November 19. .

According to Washington, the US official also mentioned the supply of Iranian drones, which the European Union and NATO are using by the Russian armed forces to attack military and civilian targets in Ukraine.

Blinken emphasized that the US has been enforcing sanctions against “Iranian drone networks” for some time. “We’re trying to break those networks and do everything we can to stop the trade, not just with sanctions,” he said, in Iranian drones.

For Blinken, Moscow’s need to acquire Iranian drones to attack Ukraine is proof that Western sanctions against Russia are working.

“Russia cannot produce spare parts for its equipment and is forced to look around the world for what it needs to continue its occupation,” he concluded.

The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 has already displaced more than 13 million people – more than six million internally displaced people and more than 7.7 million to European countries – according to the latest data, the UN. The refugee crisis is the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).