Despite all international appeals, Russia is halting the international grain deal with Ukraine. This is said to have nothing to do with a new attack on the Crimean Bridge.
The agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey with Russia to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea officially expired on Monday at 11:00 p.m. CEST. Russia canceled the agreement on Monday. Nothing was known of an extension late in the evening.
The expiration of the agreement is internationally lamented. It is reviving fears of rising grain and food prices. Thanks to the agreement, Ukraine has been able to export grain by sea since last summer, despite the Russian war of aggression. More than 1000 ships brought almost 33 million tons abroad. The freighter “TQ Samsun” en route to the Netherlands was the last ship to be inspected in Istanbul on Monday.
Zelenskyy wants cooperation without Russian approval
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the exports to continue without Russian approval in cooperation with the United Nations and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to talk to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin about resuming the agreement.
The Kremlin justified the withdrawal from the agreement, which is also important for other countries, with the fact that its own demands for an export license for Russian grain are not being met.
For almost a year, the agreement had enabled Ukraine to sell more than 30 million tons of wheat, corn and other grains abroad despite Russia’s war of aggression. In addition, Putin threatened Ukraine with military retaliation for a new attack on the bridge to the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
International reactions and criticism
The grain agreement had been extended several times in the meantime. In the past few days, however, Putin had already made it clear that he did not want to go beyond the final deadline. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Moscow would honor the agreement again if its demands were met.
There was a lot of criticism internationally. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the agreement a “beacon of hope in a troubled world”. The stop will have a negative impact on the food situation worldwide. In Africa in particular, there are fears that grain will now become even scarcer.
The US asked Russia to immediately allow exports from Ukraine again. “We urge Russia to immediately reverse its decision,” a spokesman for the National Security Council said. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of a “bad message” not only for Ukraine. This shows “that Russia does not feel responsible for good coexistence in the world”. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he wants to change Putin’s mind.
The European Union also condemned the termination of the agreement. “With this decision, Russia is further exacerbating the global food security crisis it caused by its war of aggression against Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian seaports,” foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday evening on behalf of member states. Russia must lift the illegal blockade of Ukrainian ports and allow free shipping on the Black Sea.
Attack on Crimean bridge not decisive for decision
Peskov denied that the new attack on the 19-kilometer bridge to the occupied Crimean peninsula was the decisive factor in the decision. “These are two unrelated events.”
Moscow blamed Ukraine, which includes Crimea, for the blast, killing two. Putin said in the evening: “Of course there will be an answer from Russia.” The Ministry of Defense is preparing proposals. According to Russian information, unmanned remote-controlled boats detonated explosives on the structure in the morning. Part of the road sagged as a result. From Kiev there was no confirmation of participation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry blamed Ukraine, the West and the United Nations for not extending the grain deal. “Contrary to the declarations of humanitarian goals, the export of Ukrainian foodstuffs was almost immediately switched to a purely commercial basis and was directed to the end to serve the selfish interests of Kiev and the West,” the statement said. In addition, the corridor set up for grain freighters in the Black Sea was repeatedly misused to shell Russian targets.
Moscow is calling for sanctions to be eased
With the expiry of the agreement, the transport of Ukrainian grain by sea will come to a virtual standstill, although exports are mainly important for poorer countries. Since the agreement began, around 1,000 ships from three Ukrainian ports have exported around 32.8 million tons of grain, according to Russian sources.
In return for an extension, Moscow had demanded relief from the sanctions for its fertilizer and food exports – such as insurance, freight and financing. Specifically, it was about freeing the state agricultural bank from Western sanctions. In addition, Russia wanted to force the restart of an ammonia pipeline from its territory to the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa, from where the gas needed for fertilizer production was to be shipped.
Erdogan is confident
Nevertheless, Turkish President Erdogan assumes that the agreement can be extended at a later date. “I think that despite today’s announcement, Russian President Putin is in favor of continuing this humanitarian bridge.” Erdogan referred to a possible visit to Turkey by the Kremlin chief next month. Turkey played a key role in bringing about the agreement last year.
After the start of its war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2021, Russia also blocked the neighboring country’s seaports. After five months, an agreement was reached. It enabled Ukraine to export across the Black Sea, albeit on a limited basis. Representatives of the UN, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey inspected the cargo in Istanbul. The agreement has been extended several times, most recently by two months in mid-May.
Ukraine and Russia are important suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other foodstuffs to countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. Before the war began, they supplied almost a quarter of the world’s grain exports. Russia was also the world’s largest exporter of fertilizers.
In 2022, despite the war, Ukraine was able to export more than 38 million tons of grain thanks to the grain deal, generating revenues equivalent to over 8 billion euros. The income is important for the national budget of the country, which is defending itself against the Russian war of aggression. Almost 75 percent of exports went abroad via the ports on the Black Sea and the Danube. Compared to 2021, sea exports fell by around 23 percent.