U.S. working with U.N. on Russia food, fertilizer export complaints

The United States is working with the United Nations to address Russian complaints that sanctions are hindering its food and fertilizer shipments, even though there has been no disruption to Moscow’s exports of the commodities, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
The United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed on July 22 on what was described by U.N. chief Antonio Guterres as a package deal to restart Ukraine’s Black Sea grain and fertilizer exports and facilitate Russian shipments.
“We’re seeing no disruption in Russia’s ability to send food to market,” James O’Brien, head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, told reporters. “The fertilizer is still reaching markets at the same rate that it always has.”
While the United States and others have stressed that Russian food and fertilizer is not subject to sanctions imposed over Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbor, Russia has asserted there has been a chilling effect on its exports.