Russian invasion
Russia scraps grain deal with Ukraine
Russia has blocked the agreement to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. photo
© Efrem Lukatsky/AP/dpa
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.
For almost a year, the agreement had allowed Ukraine to sell more than 30 million tons of wheat, corn and other grains abroad despite Russia’s war of aggression – one of the few agreements between the two warring parties that has endured.
The agreement has since been extended several times. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not want to go beyond the 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”. 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.
Attack on Crimean bridge not decisive for decision
According to a report by the state news agency Tass, Peskov denied that a new attack on the bridge to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was the reason for the decision. “These are two unrelated events.”
Moscow blamed Ukraine for the blast, killing two. In a special session, Putin was informed about the damage to the 19-kilometer structure. According to media reports, the Crimean bridge was attacked by a surface drone in the morning. Kiev denied being behind it.
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.
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.