According to a statement by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) chief economist, countries around the world may face difficulties without access to fertilizers from Eastern European countries.

“If in the next month or two we are not able to get all the fertilizers that key exporting countries need, then we will face a significant challenge. And that’s for the next harvest, for 2023, so the main concern for us is 2023,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said when asked about the impact of fertilizer supply issues from the region. 

Earlier in the week, the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan, met with Russian officials in Moscow to discuss the issue of unblocking access of Russia's fertilizers and wheat to world markets.

Russia said it is ready to provide help in exporting grain, including from Ukraine, but an increase in supplies would need a lifting of sanctions imposed on Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had described the Western sanctions imposed on Russian fertilizers as a short-sighted, stupid, and misguided policy.

On Thursday, the British newspaper The Guardian said that Russia is winning the economic war western nations have been waging with an aim to force it to back down on Ukraine.

Economic sanctions against Moscow resulted in a hike in the prices of global fuel and food, which boosted Russia's trade balance, financed its war, and put a significant strain on Western economies, according to the daily.

The Guardian suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been playing a long game hoping to rise the costs of sanctions and thus wearing out the West.