Russian war of aggression
Russia halts Ukrainian grain export deal
An excavator loads grain onto a cargo ship at a grain port in southern Ukraine (archive photo). photo
© Andrew Kravchenko/AP/dpa
Appeals to Russia and negotiations have brought nothing. The agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain will not be extended for the time being. This is bad news for many countries around the world.
Peskov denied that Monday’s attack on the Crimean bridge would affect the future of the grain deal. “These are two unrelated events. You know that even before the terrorist attack, President Putin’s position was expressed,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was no basis for extending the agreement.
This halts the transport of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain, mainly corn and wheat, by sea, although exports are mainly important for poorer countries.
Kremlin boss Putin had blocked himself against an extension until the end. In his view, promises made to Russia in the course of the agreement have not been fulfilled. On Thursday, Putin spoke of the possibility of suspending Russia’s participation in the agreement until the pledges were fulfilled.
In return, Moscow demanded relief from sanctions for its fertilizer and food exports, such as insurance, freight and financing. Specifically, Russia had demanded that its state agricultural bank be freed from Western sanctions in order to be able to conduct business.
After the start of its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia also blocked the neighboring country’s seaports. As Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, concerns about rising food prices and hunger crises in the poorest countries grew worldwide.
Last summer, the so-called grain agreement was negotiated with the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey. This allowed Ukraine to export across the Black Sea, but only on a limited scale. 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 start of the war in February 2022, 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.