(Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Ukraine needed to demine the approaches to its ports in order for ships to be cleared by the Russian military before they could export grain.
Russia has seized large parts of Ukraine’s coast and is blockading its ports, but says the lack of grain shipments are due to Western sanctions and Kyiv itself.
“[President Vladimir] Putin has said: Ukraine must demine the approaches to its ports,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
“This will allow ships, once checked by our military, to enter the ports, load grain and with our help, proceed to international waters.”
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
