Russia will resume its participation in the agreement on Ukraine’s grain exports after receiving “written guarantees” from Ukraine on the demilitarization of the corridor used for its transport, the Russian government announced on Wednesday.
“Russia considers that the guarantees received so far seem sufficient and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on the Telegram social network, quoted by the French news agency AFP.
Moscow had suspended its participation in the so-called “Black Sea Initiative” on Saturday, October 29, after an attack on its fleet in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula it annexed in 2014.
The initiative results from the agreements signed by the two countries with the UN and Turkey, in Istanbul, on July 22, to allow the disposal of millions of tons of grains held in Ukrainian ports by the war triggered by the Russian invasion, on July 24. February 2019. this year.
Since then, the agreement has allowed the export of more than 9.5 million tons of cereals, according to UN data as of October 30.
The process is overseen by a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, the port where the ships involved are inspected so Russia can be sure they are only carrying grain.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Moscow’s decision to rejoin the initiative.
“The Russian Defense Minister [Serguei] Shoigu contacted our Minister of Defense [Hulusi] Akar and said that from today at noon the grain aisle will continue to work as before,” Erdogan said in a speech broadcast live on the Turkish NTV channel.
Erdogan did not specify whether the time for the restart of the agreement is Turkey, Russia, Ukraine or TMG (same as Lisbon).
In its statement, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the guarantees given by Ukraine are due to the participation of the UN and the contribution of Turkey.
“In particular, the Ukrainian side has officially guaranteed that the Humanitarian Sea Corridor will be used only in accordance with the provisions of the ‘Black Sea Initiative,'” the ministry said, quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE.
Russia had suspended the deal in protest at the drone attack on its military fleet in Sevastopol last Saturday, but the CCC maintained operations until Tuesday, with only delegations from Turkey and the UN.
No ships left Ukrainian waters today under the agreement, but the coordinator of the UN delegation to the CCJ, Amir Abdulla, announced this morning on the social network Twitter that the cargo ships will sail again on Thursday, the EFF added.
The war in Ukraine caused disruptions in the supply of international markets for agricultural products, raising prices and raising fears of food shortages.
Together, according to the British magazine The Economist, before the war Ukraine and Russia supplied 28% of the world’s wheat, 29% of its barley, 15% of its corn and 75% of its sunflower oil.
Source: TSF
