LONDON (Reportase One) – Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that if the G7 banned exports to Russia, Moscow would respond by terminating the Black Sea Wheat deal that allowed vital wheat exports from Ukraine.
Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering an almost complete ban on exports to Russia, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported last week, citing Japanese Government sources that Russia had repeatedly threatened to cancel participation in the grain deal, which is due to expire on May 18.
“The idea of ​​the idiots in the G7 regarding a complete ban on exports to our countries is beautiful because it implies a reciprocal ban on imports from our countries, including the most sensitive category of goods for the G7,” Medvedev said in a Telegram post.
“In that case, the grain deal – and many other things they need – will be over for them,” he added.
The G7 is reportedly discussing reversing its sanctions approach so that exports to Russia will be automatically banned unless they include a list of items that are permitted to be sent to the country. Under the current framework, goods are allowed to be sold to Russia except those that are clearly blacklisted.
Medvedev, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin, is Putin’s deputy chairman on the influential Security Council and heads a government commission for weapons production for the war in Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly opposed the Black Sea Wheat deal – the only significant breakthrough in the 14-month conflict in Ukraine.
The country has said it will abandon the initiative by the May 18 deadline if the West does not lift a ban on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports.
The G7 called on Sunday for the “extension, full implementation and extension” of the deal for Ukraine’s wheat exports via the Black Sea, the group of agriculture ministers said in a communiqué.
Source: Reuters
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Translator: Yoanita Hastryka Djohan
Editor: Atman Ahdiat
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