Caretaker Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan noted that the Russian Federation and Ukraine are global suppliers of products and without them it is impossible to ensure food security. 

The agreement regulating the export of grain and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine is in the interests of Lebanon. This was announced to TASS on Thursday by the Hajj Hasan, commenting on the extension of the grain deal for 60 days.

“The agreements reached are of concern to us, since we are buying such a strategic product as wheat abroad, including in Russia,” he noted. “The government is interested in this and approaches an international agreement, based primarily on what it will bring benefit to Lebanon.

According to i. O. head of the Ministry of Agriculture, grain is now imported from many countries. "But we prefer that the situation calms down in the Black Sea region and everything returns to normal," he stressed. "This is the principled position of Lebanon when we talk about the Ukrainian crisis, and we hope that this will happen."

Hajj Hasan noted that "Russia and Ukraine are global suppliers of products, without which it is impossible to ensure food security." "Of course, grain and fertilizers can be purchased in the United States or, for example, in India, but the question is where it is more profitable to do so," the agency's interlocutor stated, recalling that Lebanon has historically played the role of a trade intermediary in the region. "Today we are all in the same boat, and it is threatened by many storms, so food security should be taken seriously," he said.

The minister said that Lebanon has been exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to many countries for decades. "The supply of Lebanese agricultural products to Russia, we believe, will help strengthen the trade and economic relations that bind our friendly countries," he stressed. "In order to move forward on this issue, it is necessary to involve the chambers of commerce and industry."