Russia re-enters Black Sea grain agreement
Russia consents to resume the grain export agreement with Ukraine. According to Turkey’s Erdoan, Moscow is returning to the arrangement meant to prevent a food catastrophe.
On Wednesday, a number of ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, were anchored off the shore of Istanbul.
Following Russia’s decision to rejoin a UN-backed push to permit their sale, a standoff that threatened to rekindle a worldwide food crisis has been resolved, and grain shipments from Ukraine will resume on Wednesday.
Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the president of Turkey, claimed that Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, had called his Turkish counterpart to announce Moscow’s re-engagement.
Vladimir Putin told Erdoan he would prefer to see “the poorest countries of Africa” gain first, according to Erdoan, who has maintained tight ties with Putin since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine and assisted in brokering the initial grain deal in July.
The Turkish president added that Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan will receive the upcoming grain shipments. These nations are particularly vulnerable without Ukrainian agricultural imports.
Following reports of a Ukrainian drone attack on its warships, Russia announced its withdrawal from the UN-mediated agreement on Saturday, accusing Kiev of aiming its naval fleet in the Black Sea.
A rare instance of wartime cooperation that helped more than 9 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural exports reach foreign markets and avert a global food crisis was in jeopardy due to Moscow’s withdrawal.
Russia’s defence ministry spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, claimed Kyiv had provided written assurances that it wouldn’t utilise the country’s ports for exporting grains or the export route “to launch combat operations against Russia.”
According to Konashenkov, Ukraine’s agreement to follow guidelines established through UN and Turkish mediation was “sufficient” for them to return to the agreement.
Regarding the promises it had provided to Russia, Ukraine did not immediately respond.
In recent weeks, Russia has launched a number of crippling airstrikes on Ukraine using its Black Sea fleet, prompting complaints from Kyiv. Russia has repeatedly denied using the grain corridor to launch its own military strikes.
In a tweet, Amir Abdulla, the UN’s coordinator for the grain accord, expressed his gratitude for Turkey’s assistance and his welcome for the Russian Federation’s return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative’s execution in order to speed up the shipment of food and fertiliser from Ukraine.
Wheat futures dropped 6.4% to $8.45 per bushel on Turkey’s news, while corn dropped 2.4% to $6.81 per bushel.
Mevlüt Avuşolu, Turkey’s foreign minister, already stated on Wednesday that Russia had made “security demands” in response to the weekend attack, but he did not provide further details.
Avuşolu is cited as saying to a panel that Moscow also desired to increase the export of its own agricultural goods included by the pact.
Although Russian wheat and fertiliser are not included in the list of sanctioned countries, ships carrying them are unable to dock because [insurance] payments are not being made. According to Avuşolu, several nations’ ships are reluctant to convey these cargoes.
Russia re-enters Black Sea grain agreement
In order to halt Russia’s embargo of Ukraine’s ports following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February, the UN and Ankara forged the initial grain agreement in July.
One of the top producers of grains and other agricultural goods in the globe is Ukraine. Experts on food security have cautioned that shortages brought on by the conflict will have major repercussions for developing nations already experiencing a crisis brought on by the effects of climate change and the Covid-19 outbreak.
