Russia: The Kremlin has announced that Russia has suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain export deal. The country’s decision to halt its participation in the deal is widely viewed as a severe blow to global food security.
The United Nations and Turkey brokered the landmark accord with Ukraine and Russia in July 2022, which came with a separate agreement to facilitate shipments of Russian food and fertiliser that Moscow insists has not been applied.
The Black Sea deal, which was aimed at assisting war-torn Ukraine in shipping grain through the Black Sea to regions in need, has been extended several times previously. More than 32 million metric tonnes of corn, wheat, and other grains have been exported by Ukraine under the arrangement.
“In fact, the Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today,” Kremlin spokesman Mr. Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” Mr. Peskov noted, adding that Moscow would “immediately” return to the deal “as soon as the Russian part of the agreements is fulfilled.”
According to Ms. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia has notified Turkey, Ukraine, and the UN that the country is against extending the deal.
The announcement of suspension came just hours after Russia said Ukraine had attacked a bridge linking it to the annexed Crimea Peninsula.
Mr. Peskov further remarked that the decision not to renew the deal was unrelated to the overnight attack, which he called a “terrorist act” and blamed on Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia are two of the world’s biggest agricultural producers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year sent food commodity prices surging to record highs and contributed to a global food crisis also tied to other conflicts, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, droughts, and other climate factors.
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