The Ukrainian government on Friday rejected the lifting of some of the international sanctions imposed on Russia in exchange for Moscow’s return to the agreement allowing the export of grains from three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
“Weakening part of the sanctions regime against the Russian Federation in exchange for restoring the grain deal would be a triumph of Russian food blackmail and an invitation to new waves of blackmail by Moscow,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. . Oleg Nikolenko, on his personal Facebook account.
The Ukrainian official was responding to the publication in the German daily Bild of a letter sent by UN Secretary General António Guterres to Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov, in which he proposes to receive part of to lift the sanctions. for the return to the agreement between grains.
Together with the United Nations, Turkey was one of the mediators of the Black Sea Initiative, an agreement signed in Istanbul in the summer of 2022 that allowed the export of grains via this sea route from Ukrainian ports. The agreement was suspended in mid-July following Moscow’s unilateral withdrawal.
Russia suspended the deal after months of criticism of the agreed text, arguing that shipments of agricultural products and fertilizers were blocked by Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukrainian territory in February 2022.
Guterres’ alleged proposal would include the return of Russian banks to the international system and rapid capital movement, the end of the embargo on various Russian investments in Europe and easier access to European ports. The commitment would also guarantee that Russian ships would not be attacked in the Black Sea.
Since the end of the agreement, Russia has been intensively bombing ports in southern Ukraine and its grain silos, while Kiev is looking for alternative routes to export products, in addition to attacks on several Russian ports and ships in the Black Sea. Sea..
In his comments, Nikolenko asks international officials to “remain committed to ensuring that Russia returns to compliance with its obligations” instead of “reinforcing its sense of impunity and encouraging new aggression with concessions.”
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied weapons to Kiev and approved successive sanctions packages against Russian interests to try to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
Source: DN
