CZ/SK verze

Black Sea Grain Initiative in Jeopardy: Russia Officially Terminates Agreement

Black Sea Grain Initiative in Jeopardy: Russia Officially Terminates Agreement
photo: Mykhaylo Shtekel/RadioSvoboda.org/Black Sea Grain Initiative in Jeopardy: Russia Officially Terminates Agreement
17 / 07 / 2023

The last ship carrying Ukrainian food under the current grain deal, which expired on 17 July, left the port of Odesa on Sunday morning. Today, Russia has officially notified Turkey and Ukraine, as well as the UN Secretariat, of its objections to the extension of the grain deal.

The agreement, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was concluded by Russia and Ukraine with the UN and Turkey in Istanbul in July 2022. It has since been extended several times.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said that Vladimir Putin had agreed to extend the grain deal. In contrast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had not made any statements about the grain deal extension, and today, according to Russian media reports, he officially terminated the agreement. "Russia will immediately return to the 'grain deal' as soon as the agreements related to it are fulfilled," Peskov said.

In turn, the Russian news agency TASS quoted Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov as saying that the Russian Embassy in Belarus handed over a note to the Ukrainian side on the morning of 17 July outlining Moscow's position on the grain deal.

"In the note sent to Kyiv, Moscow denies the extension of the grain deal, and its implementation should be terminated from 18 July," the statement said.

It is known that Russia is unwilling to extend the agreement until its conditions for unblocking Russian food and fertilizer exports are met, thus leaving itself a loophole to return to the agreement. In addition to resolving the Russian export blocking, Moscow insisted on connecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system.

Tags