Russian president Vladimir Putin has hit out at the UK and blamed the country for the current global food crisis.
The Kremlin boss said the sanctions placed by Britain and the USA on Russian fertilisers were the cause of global food supply issues - despite the fact such sanctions do not exist.
He denied Moscow had imposed a ban on grain exports from Ukraine, one of the biggest grain exporters globally.
Speaking on Friday, the former KGB agent turned politician said: "The situation will worsen, because the British and Americans have imposed sanctions on our fertilisers.”
Putin went on to say that the best solution was to ship grain through Belarus, which would conveniently mean any sanctions on that country must be lifted.
He called reports of a Russian export ban a “bluff” in an interview with Russian national television.
His army has seized much of Ukraine’s south coast and its warship control access to the Black Sea ports.
"If someone wants to solve the problem of exporting Ukrainian grain - please, the easiest way is through Belarus. No one is stopping it," Putin said.
"But for this you have to lift sanctions from Belarus."
Only last week, Putin told the leaders of France and Germany that he was “ready” to start looking for ways to ship the grain stuck at Ukrainian ports, but once again first demanded western sanctions be lifted.
During a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz last Saturday, Putin blamed the grain exports on the West once more.
“ Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports,” Putin told Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said.
“An increase in the supply of Russian fertilisers and agricultural products will also help reduce tensions on the global food market, which, of course, will require the removal of the relevant sanctions.”
The Russian leader has tried to use the grain shortage for his own political gain as his invasion of Ukraine continues into its 100th day.
Britain is working with its European allies and America to try and develop a solution to get the grain and corn stuck in Ukraine out. The food supply is vital around the world, but particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
However, Putin’s propaganda has found a foothole in some national leaders after Senegalese president Macky Sall echoed his lies.
Sall, the chair of the African Union told EU leaders this week that Russian propaganda blaming western sanctions for the global food crisis is spreading in Africa.
Sall claimed that Russia was “ready” to export its grain and fertilisers but couldn’t because of sanctions placed on them.
The UK has not sanctioned Russian fertilisers or wheat, nor has the EU or the USA.
However the UK Department of Transport's ban on Russian vessels into UK ports as well as sanctions on a number of oligarchs who are shareholders or founders of major Russian fertiliser plants will doubtless have had an impact.
The African Union, meanwhile, is concerned that sanctions on Russia's financial system will make it harder for countries to buy much-needed goods like grains and fertilisers.
