US: Africa can buy Russian grain but risks actions on oil
(5 Aug 2022) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ++QUALITY AS INCOMING++ ASSOCIATED PRESS Kampala – 4 August 2022 1. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield arriving for news conference 2. Various of Greenfield during news conference 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the United Nations: "Tonight I'm pleased to announce that the United States will provide an additional 20 million dollars (19.5 million euros) to help Uganda to expand investments and fertilizer grains and other crops with the goal of increasing resilience to future shocks." 4. Medium of Greenfield arriving at Maganjo Grain Millers 5. Various of Greenfield touring Maganjo Grain Millers 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the United Nations: "We have no sanctions on any agricultural products coming out of Russia. Russia can export their agricultural products and countries can buy Russian agricultural products, including fertilizers and wheat." 7. Various of Greenfield meeting members of the business community at Maganjo Grain Millers 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the United Nations: "If a country decides to engage with Russia where there are sanctions then they are breaking those sanctions. They are breaking our sanctions and in some cases they are breaking UN sanctions with other countries. And we caution countries not to break those sanctions because then if they do they stand the chance of having actions taken against them for breaking those sanctions." 9. Greenfield listening to questions 10. Greenfield departing news conference STORYLINE: African nations are free to buy grain from Russia but could face consequences if they trade in U.S.-sanctioned commodities such as Russian oil, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday. “Countries can buy Russian agricultural products, including fertilizer and wheat,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a news conference in the capital, Kampala, after a meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Museveni is a U.S. ally who has not criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expressed sympathy with Moscow. She added that if a country decides to engage with Russia where there are sanctions, then they "stand the chance of having actions taken against them." Her trip comes a week after the Africa visit of Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who dismissed charges that his country's invasion of Ukraine is solely responsible for a dangerous food crisis in countries ranging from Somalia to South Sudan. Lavrov blamed food shortages in the market on “the absolutely inadequate reaction of the West, which announced sanctions” following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are key global suppliers of wheat, barley, corn and sunflower oil, with fighting in the Black Sea region, known as the “breadbasket of the world,” pushing up food prices, threatening political stability in developing nations and leading countries to ban some food exports. Many African countries - including some with areas that are on the threshold of famine - depend heavily on grain imports from Russia and Ukraine. Thomas-Greenfield insisted that sanctions imposed by Washington are not to blame for rising food prices in Africa and elsewhere. She said the U.S. seeks to strengthen existing partnerships in African countries such as Uganda and spoke of Museveni, an authoritarian who has held power for 36 years, as a regional leader with whom the U.S. has “mutual interests.” =========================================================== Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
