China may put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, high-ranking sources in the Kremlin have said. Thus, China is not satisfied with the fact that Russia has blocked grain exports from Ukraine.

The Washington Post reports that Russia is facing a barrage of criticism from countries around the world, including some of its friends, for its strikes on Ukrainian ports and the decision to suspend participation in a U.N. deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea.

"Russia is waging war on the world's food supply," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned. "Russian exporters are already benefiting while millions of people who can't afford more expensive grain are suffering, especially people in the Middle East and Africa. Let's be clear: Russia has no legal grounds to suspend its participation in this agreement," she added.

The grain initiative has proved widely popular among some countries that maintain friendly ties with Russia as well. Moscow's withdrawal from the deal drew notable rebukes from China, Egypt and several African members of the UN Security Council, which have taken a relatively neutral stance on the conflict.

Putin, who faces arrest for war crimes, will skip the BRICS summit in South Africa. Mozambique's UN representative, Filipe Chidumo, said his country "appreciates" the initiative and warned that its suspending would "increase global socio-economic stresses". He called on all parties to recommit to the deal and urged Russia and Ukraine to engage in peace talks.

In addition, Egypt, one of the world's largest wheat importers and a major buyer of Russian and Ukrainian grain that deepened its relations with Russia in recent years, also criticized Russia's withdrawal from the deal.

A senior Russian diplomatic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said China could pressure Russia to return to the grain deal as being the largest recipient of Ukrainian grain. "Both agreements should be implemented in a balanced, comprehensive and effective way," Geng Shuang, China's representative to the United Nations, said on Friday.

The Russian diplomatic official said a solution should be found soon because Ukraine will soon run out of space to store grain when the new harvest reaches the ports.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- On July 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a series of statements about the grain agreement. He complained about "harassment" of Russia but said that it would consider returning to the grain agreement.

- Since July 20, Russia has declared all ships sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports as such carrying military cargo. Thus, the terrorist state will consider them a "legitimate military target".

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