UPDATE - Almost all of Ukraine's grain goes to EU countries: Putin

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY RUSSIAN PRESIDENT

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that almost all of Ukraine's grain was transported to the EU countries.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday, Putin warned that an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe may arise in the world because the West exports most of the Ukrainian grain to its countries, and not to the countries in need in Africa.

"All, almost all grain exported from Ukraine is sent not to the developing poorest countries, but to the EU countries.

"Under the UN World Food Program, which implies assistance to countries in need, only two ships were loaded, I emphasize, only two out of 87, and 60,000 tons of food were exported on them of the 2 million tons, this is only 3% that is sent to developing countries," the president said.

Putin added that many European countries act as colonizers, deceiving developing countries.

"It is obvious that with this approach, the scale of food problems in the world will only increase, unfortunately, to our great regret, which can lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe," Putin said.

He said he would think about limiting the export of grain and other food from Ukraine, and would definitely consult with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on this topic.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement on July 22 in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

- Putin says Europe throws its well-being into 'sanctions furnace'

Speaking about Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine, Putin said it was not Russia that started the combat activities in the country but those people who came to power through a coup in 2014.

"I want to emphasize once again: we have not started anything from the point of view of military operations, but are only trying to finish.

"Hostilities began in 2014, after the coup d'etat in Ukraine by those who did not want normal, peaceful development and sought to suppress their own people," he said.

Russia did not lose anything after Feb. 24, only strengthened its sovereignty, while the current polarization of relations is for the good because "everything unnecessary, harmful and everything that prevents us from moving forward will be dismissed," Putin added.

About the Western sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war in Ukraine, Putin said the West "throws into the sanction furnace the level of development of Europe and the quality of life of people," all for the sake of the "US dictatorship" in the world's affairs.

"The achieved level of industrial development in Europe, the quality of people's lives, socio-economic stability, all this is thrown into the sanctions furnace, spent on orders from Washington in the name of the notorious Euro-Atlantic unity, and in fact sacrificed for the sake of preserving the dictatorship of the US in world affairs," he also said.

The competitiveness of European enterprises is declining, among other things, due to the severance of ties with Russia, while the American companies strengthen positions and may replace the Europeans at the global market, Putin noted.

Also, Western countries "in an attempt to counter the course of history" have undermined the pillars of the global economic system, while confidence in the dollar and other Western currencies has been lost, and inflation rates in developed countries have already exceeded multi-year highs, he said.

- Russia's idea of multipolarity implies 'more just world': Putin

According to Putin, Russia's idea of multipolarity and peace refers to a world that is much more just, not based on the dictates of one country that imagines itself to be "the representative of the Lord God on Earth, or maybe even higher" and that defines its entire policy on this alleged exclusivity.

Putin said accusations against Moscow that it allegedly violates international law are groundless, adding that international law is violated by those who "invaded" Libya and Iraq, and those that have attempted to impose "a rules-based order."

"What rules, what have they come up with? Where did they get these rules from? Let them live by these rules themselves," he said.

About the election of new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, Putin said the British procedure for choosing the head of state is far from democratic principles.

"The people of Great Britain are not involved in this case, in the change of the government," he said, recalling that the prime minister is elected by the party that won the parliamentary election.

It is up to Truss to decide how to build relations with Russia, and Moscow is ready to defend its interests, he said.

Putin also noted that Russia is coping with the economic, financial, and technological "aggression of the West," while the economic situation in the country has stabilized, although problems remain in a number of industries and regions, at individual enterprises that are dependent on supplies from Europe.

The president also opposed the idea of a mirror response to the possible ban on Schengen visas for Russians, saying: "Let them (foreigners) come to us, to study, to work, to take part in cultural, art activities."

- Putin says he trusts IAEA, which he thinks under EU, US pressure

Commenting on the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Putin said he trusts it, adding that Director-General Rafael Rossi is "a very professional man."

"They are, of course, under pressure from the countries where they work, including the US and European countries, and they cannot directly say that the shelling is coming from Ukrainian territory. But these are obvious things," he stressed, noting that the fragments of the US-made Himars rockets that Washington is delivering to Kyiv are found at the plant.

Putin said the military equipment that the IAEA mentioned in its report as necessary to remove from the plant are armored vehicles of the NPP guards, with no other military equipment there.

Asked about revoking a license of the Russian daily Novaya Gazeta, headed by Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov, Putin said the Nobel Committee "largely devalued the significance of the Nobel prizes" by taking decisions under the influence of the political conjuncture.

Muratov was co-awarded the 2021 peace prize for defending freedom of expression in Russia. He was among the people who started the daily in 1993, with the paper becoming known for its critical stance on Russia’s political and social affairs.

"We had business relations with (former US) President Barack Obama. Why was he given a Nobel prize? I've never talked about it, but you're just forcing me to say it. What did he do in the field of peace, protection of peace? I am referring to the fighting in some regions of the world that took place when he was the president," he noted.

About sentencing journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison, Putin said: "If he considers the sentence severe, he can appeal it."

A Moscow court on Monday found Russian journalist Ivan Safronov guilty of high treason and sentenced him to 22 years in prison. The Russian Federal Security Service detained Safronov in 2020 in Moscow "while passing on state secrets related to military-technical cooperation, defense and security of Russia to one of NATO intelligence service," the court said.