Ukraine not prepared to consider exporting grain via Belarus - Zelensky

MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) - Ukraine is not prepared to consider exporting grain via Belarus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"As regards Belarus, this information is public. We received an offer to go via Belarus by rail [to export grain]. We even know what volume. But we understand why we were offered this. We are not yet prepared to follow this format and help our 'friendly' neighbors," Zelensky told reporters on Monday.

Allegations that Russia is not releasing Ukrainian grain from the country's seaports are a bluff, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Ukrainian grain could be transported out of the country via Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Belarus, but sanctions must be lifted from Belarus to do so, Putin said.

However, the easiest thing is transporting grain via the territory of Belarus, Putin said. "It's the easiest and cheapest, because [grain can be delivered] to the ports of the Baltic States and the Baltic Sea immediately and then to any destination. But sanctions must be lifted from Belarus to do so. And it's not a question for us," the Russian president said.

This is what Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is also speaking about, he said. "And if anyone wants to resolve this issue, if it actually exists, the problem of transporting Ukrainian grain, they are welcome, that's the easiest way, via Belarus and no one's hindering it," Putin said.