Russia halts participation in Black Sea grain deal, Kremlin says
Russia said on Monday that it had halted participation in a landmark UN-brokered deal which allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea just hours after Moscow said Ukraine had attacked the Crimean Bridge.
The Kremlin said the halting of the Black Sea grain deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had nothing to do with the bridge attack.
"In fact, the Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
"Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated," Peskov said.
Grain deal suspension increases food insecurity in poorer countries, Russia to benefit - analyst
A leading agricultural analyst believes the suspension of a grain deal which allowed the safe export of grain from Ukraine for the past year will hit poorer countries hardest.
The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.
Speaking from London, Carlos Mera, head of research for agricultural commodities at Rabobank, said the deal lapsing will drive up prices of wheat, of which Russia is the world's largest exporter, which will impact countries across Africa the most.
Mera says Ukrainian farmers will be forced to find alternative and more expensive routes to try and export their Ukraine
''Well, Ukraine is going to find itself unable to export via the ports on the Black Sea, which is the most efficient route for its grains and whole seeds. So the two main alternative routes, one is via EU land borders to the west, for example, Poland, but also via the ports on the Danube. The ports on the Danube are basically in front of EU waters. So it's a very safe navigation route. But it involves sending those grains and whole seeds via train or trucks to the very southern tip of the country, which is a very long way. And this, of course, increases the transport costs enormously, which means that Ukrainian farmers will get a much lower price for the grains and whole seeds, which means that they may not have any profits or they may have to sell below the cost of production, which means that they may find themselves unable to sustain production in coming years.''
Russia 'weaponising hunger' with Black Sea grain deal, says EU's Borrell
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the EU Council President Charles Michel on Monday both condemned Russia's announcement that it would put on hold the Black Sea grain deal.
The two leaders further vowed to do everything in the EU's power to get Ukrainian grain through to 'vulnerable countries,' as they spoke on the sidelines of the two-day EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit in Brussels.
“I am so sorry to say that today Russia has refused to prolong this deal and this is something very serious that will create a lot of troubles for many people around the world. We, from our side, will do everything we can through our solidarity lanes in order to make available Ukrainian grain for the people who eat from it. And I have to blame Russia for this decision. Completely unjustified, weaponising, the hunger of the people," Borrell said.
“Let's be clear. This Black Sea grain deal, agreed to under the hospices of Antonio Guterres, is very important, especially for the most vulnerable countries, because this agreement, together with the European solidarity lanes is helping to make sure that the most vulnerable countries have access to the grains and to the fertilizers they need for the people, for the population. And it's why we fully support all the efforts of Antonio Guterres to make sure that the continuity of this agreement will be guaranteed," Michel said.
