Putin's effort to stop grain exports from Ukraine termed disturbing by US lawmaker

Michael McCaul in a Thursday interview called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s effort to stop grain exports from flowing out of Ukraine disturbing, warning of possible implications for North Africa, Europe and the United States.

During an appearance on NewsNation, McCaul told Chief White House Correspondent Blake Burman he’s worried about a possible scenario where war escalation could happen between Russia and NATO member countries that border the Black Sea. 

The White House on Wednesday warned that Russia is preparing for possible attacks on civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea, noting that Russian military forces have laid additional sea mines that border Ukrainian ports. 

“Oh, sure. We’ve been worried about that scenario, since the inception of the Russian invasion into Ukraine,” McCaul told Burman.  

“This is very, I think, disturbing on Putin’s part to shut off […] grain from the Black Sea into the White Sea, because this could cause a famine in Northern Africa and it could also raise prices not only in Europe, but the United States. I think it’s highly irresponsible what he’s doing, but he’s desperate now.”

McCaul also said Turkey has tried to negotiate with Putin on a solution, noting that Russia’s withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative will affect the global food market. 

“It affects the entire global food market. And again, I think the region that will get hit the hardest will be Northern Africa. It could set them off into a famine. I’ve met with the World Food Program,” McCaul added. “You know David Beasley was the head of that, he negotiated the deal with Putin. I hope we can make some progress, but the fact is, we will feel this here in the United States.”

McCaul’s remarks come days after Russia paused its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying in a statement that it would suspend its part in the deal unless its demands are met to get its own food and fertilizer out to the world. 

“When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal,” Peskov said.

The deal, brokered last year by the United Nations and Turkey, became necessary after Russia invaded and blockaded Ukraine’s ports.

Wheat commodity futures have risen about 12% since Russia announced it would suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukraine to export wheat from its southern ports via the Bosporus. Ukraine was one of the world’s largest wheat exporters before the Russian invasion.

Russia has also continued to attack Ukrainian port infrastructure and cities with missiles and drones, damaging the ability to export wheat if the deal were to resume. Those strikes have destroyed 60,000 tons of grain, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

“This attack proves that their target is not only Ukraine and not only the lives of our people. About a million tons of food is stored in the ports attacked today,” Zelensky argued. “This is the volume that should have been delivered to consumer countries in Africa and Asia long ago.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken predicted the rising prices while criticizing the Russian move Monday.

“So the result of Russia’s action today — weaponizing food, using it as a tool, as a weapon in its war against Ukraine — will be to make food harder to come by in places that desperately need it, and have prices rise,” Blinken said. “We’re already seeing the market react to this as prices are going up.”