Russia has withdrawn from the Black Sea grain export agreement brokered by Turkey and the United Nations a year ago, which is the only diplomatic success during the Russian-Ukrainian war, because it lifted the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports and avoided a global food emergency.

 

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Edited by| Hugh Gey

 

Politic section -  CJ journalist   

Ukraine conflict news section      

 

Moscow – July,19,2023

 

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Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest exporters of grain and other foodstuffs. And if Ukrainian grain does not flow back to the market, prices may rise all over the world to the detriment of the poorest countries.

A number of G20 members condemned Russia's move at a meeting of the group on Tuesday, but India, the host of the meeting, said it was unable to reach a consensus due to objections from China and Russia.

Moscow has rejected calls from Ukraine to allow the resumption of shipping without Russian participation, and the Kremlin has openly said that ships entering the region without its guarantees will be at risk.

"We are talking about an area close to a war zone, without proper security guarantees, certain risks will appear there, so if something is officially carried out without Russia, these risks should be taken into account,"Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia says it may return to the grain deal, but not before implementing its demands to relax rules on its food and fertilizer exports. Western countries say that this is an exploitation of the issue of food supplies to put pressure on the reduction of financial sanctions that already allow Russia to sell food.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the continuation of the grain agreement without Russia and is striving to get Turkey's support to cancel the Russian blockade. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the sponsor of the deal, says he believes he can persuade Moscow to return.

Any attempt to resume the export of Ukrainian grain without the participation of Russia depends on the consent of insurance companies to provide coverage. Sources in the insurance sector said they were studying the implications.

 

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