U.S. urges countries to reach out if having issues with Russian food, fertilizer exports

FILE PHOTO: Russian-flagged bulk carrier Matros Koshka sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey May 27, 2022. Picture taken May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Countries should ask the United States for help if they have any problems importing Russian food and fertilizer, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, stressing that such goods were not subject to U.S. sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

"Nothing is stopping Russia from exporting its grain or fertilizer except to own policies and actions," U.S. State Department Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Assistant Secretary, Ramin Toloui, told reporters.