In late May 2022, on a visit to Bosnia, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was asked whether London would trade sanctions relief for the release of Ukrainian grain, and she refused without hesitation. Her answer arrives in the middle of a long human story, in which the bread of distant and poor people becomes a bargaining chip in a war far from their own tables. Russia had signalled that food ships could pass through a humanitarian corridor, but only if the West loosened its penalties, and Truss met that offer with the judgment that concession would only strengthen the one who made it. What r
Truss Accuses Putin of Holding World to Ransom Over Ukrainian Grain, Rejects Sanctions Relief
The blockade of Ukrainian grain threatens food supplies for the world's poorest people, according to Truss.
Mark
Why does this exchange matter? It sounds like two governments repeating positions.
Mimi
Because it puts a price on the table. Russia reportedly offered a corridor for food ships if some sanctions were lifted, and Truss answered that no relief is acceptable.
Mark
So she's treating the offer as a ransom demand.
Mimi
Yes, that's her framing. She said Putin is weaponising hunger among the poorest people and has to lift the blockade without conditions.
Luke
Worth noting how the offer reached us, though. It comes from Interfax citing Deputy Foreign Minister Rudenko. It isn't a formal proposal we've seen the text of.
Mark
So we don't know the details of what Russia would want lifted?
Luke
Right. The report says only 'some sanctions.' Which ones, and what guarantees would come with the corridor, are unknown here.
Mimi
And Truss was answering a question during a Bosnia visit, so this is a public statement of position, not a negotiation.
Luke
Also, the claim that the blockade threatens the world's poorest is hers. The source gives no tonnage or country-level figures.
Mark
Then the thing to watch is whether allies agree with her.
Mimi
Exactly. She ruled out easing, but whether others hold that line as grain talks go on is the open question.
Le Pouls
- Russia has offered a humanitarian corridor for grain ships, but only if some Western sanctions are lifted in return.
- Foreign Secretary Liz Truss rejected any sanctions relief outright, calling the linkage appalling and a form of holding the world to ransom.
- Truss says the blockade of Ukrainian grain is weaponising hunger, with the poorest people far from the fighting bearing the cost.
- Western allies now face a test: whether they hold the same line while grain shipments are negotiated.
In late May 2022, on a visit to Bosnia, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was asked whether London would trade sanctions relief for the release of Ukrainian grain, and she refused without hesitation. Her answer arrives in the middle of a long human story, in which the bread of distant and poor people becomes a bargaining chip in a war far from their own tables. Russia had signalled that food ships could pass through a humanitarian corridor, but only if the West loosened its penalties, and Truss met that offer with the judgment that concession would only strengthen the one who made it. What remains unsettled is whether the hunger she describes will be eased by someone's yielding, or whether it will be used as leverage until one side blinks.
On Thursday, in Bosnia, Liz Truss was asked a plain question: would Britain lift sanctions on Russia if it meant Ukrainian grain could leave the country? She answered no, and she did not soften it.
The question followed a Russian offer the day before. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko, as reported by Interfax, said Moscow would open a humanitarian corridor for food ships, provided some sanctions were eased. Truss called this an appalling attempt to hold the world to ransom, and said Putin was using hunger among the world's poorest as a weapon. In her view, the blockade had to end without any price attached.
The sanctions themselves were built by Western countries together to punish Moscow for the war, reaching companies, media, businessmen and politicians. Truss argued that easing them would only make Putin stronger over time.
The human cost, as she described it, is felt far from the battlefield, in the grain shortages that could reach the world's poorest. The reporting does not give figures on how much grain is trapped or where shortages would hit hardest.
For now, two positions stand apart: Moscow ties food passage to relief, and London refuses to bargain. What comes next depends on whether Western allies keep the same line as the grain question is negotiated.
On Thursday, during a visit to Bosnia, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was asked a direct question: would she support lifting sanctions on Russia in exchange for letting Ukrainian grain leave the country? Her answer was no, and she put it in blunt terms.
Truss said it was completely appalling that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to hold the world to ransom. In her words, he was essentially weaponising hunger and a lack of food among the poorest people around the world. She said this could not be allowed to happen, and that Putin needed to remove the blockade on Ukrainian grain.
The question came a day after a Russian offer reported by the Interfax news agency. On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko was cited as saying Moscow was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor so that vessels carrying food could leave Ukraine. The condition was that some sanctions be lifted in return.
Truss rejected that kind of trade outright. She said there could be no lifting of sanctions and no appeasement, because that would simply make Putin stronger in the longer term.
The sanctions at issue are the product of coordinated action by Western countries. They reach Russian companies and media outlets, as well as businessmen and politicians, and were imposed to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
The human stake, as Truss framed it, falls on people far from the front lines. She argued that the blockade of Ukrainian grain threatens food supplies for the world's poorest. That is her characterisation of the effects. The reporting here does not provide figures on how much grain is blocked or where the shortages would be felt.
The exchange leaves two positions on the table. Russia has tied safe passage for food ships to sanctions relief, as reported through Interfax. Britain says it will not discuss relief as a price for that passage. What to watch is whether Western allies hold the same line as the question of getting grain out of Ukraine is negotiated.
Citations marquantes
What we cannot have is any lifting of sanctions, any appeasement, which will simply make Putin stronger in the longer term.— Liz Truss, British Foreign Secretary
Moscow was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for food vessels in return for lifting some sanctions.— Andrei Rudenko, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, as cited by Interfax (paraphrased)
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