Statement from Kremlin follows the country’s unilateral exit from Black Sea Grain Initiative
Russia’s Defence Ministry has posted a threat to maritime vessels sailing to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, according to Reuters.
“In connection with the termination of the Black Sea Initiative and the end of the maritime humanitarian corridor, from 00.00 Moscow time on 20 July 2023 (21.00 GMT on Wednesday) all ships proceeding to Ukrainian ports in Black Sea waters will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo,” Reuters quoted from a ministry statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia has also reportedly followed up on its threat to restore "the regime of a temporarily dangerous area in the northwestern Black Sea,” by declaring international waters in the southeastern and northwestern Black Sea unsafe for navigation, without offering specifics.
Russia said it would consider the flag states of vessels travelling to Ukrainian ports as having sided with Ukraine.
The United Nations (UN) and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative expired on 17 July after Russia publicly declined to extend the agreement.
At the time, Russia said it would no longer guarantee the safety of vessels transiting a UN-managed humanitarian corridor created to facilitate key global grain deliveries.
According to reports, the Russian foreign ministry posted a statement to Telegram, saying it was instituting a “withdrawal of navigation safety guarantees, curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, [and] restoration of the regime of a temporarily dangerous area in the northwestern Black Sea.”
17 July 2023
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was brokered by Turkey and the UN in July 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to ensure that both Russia and Ukraine’s extensive supplies of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilisers including ammonia reach global markets.
The initiative has seen more than 900 ships depart from ports in the Black Sea and transit Turkey’s narrow straits carrying 30.2M tonnes of agricultural produce to global markets over the last year.
Subject to continued participation by both Russia and Ukraine, the deal had an initial expiry date of 18 May 2023, but as Russia’s war in Ukraine wore on, negotiations extended the Black Sea Grain Initiative for two months.
The initiative was forged to keep global food prices in check and to help stave off the famine conditions affecting millions, particularly in politically and climate-vulnerable countries. Ukraine and Russia are among the top five wheat exporters to international markets with multiple nations dependent on these exports, including some with populations at or near starvation.
Russia has repeatedly threatened that its conditions for participating the deal are not being met, particularly its demands to manage its own grain and fertiliser exports. The country’s foreign ministry maintains that fertilisers held in Baltic Sea ports are one of the key stumbling blocks to Russia continuing to engage with the deal.
According to Reuters reporting, some 200,000 tonnes of fertiliser were seized in Latvia in March 2022 and later "donated" for shipment by the UN’s World Food Programme.
In late April, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a UN press conference, “It was not called the grain deal it was called the Black Sea Initiative and in the text itself, the agreement stated this applies to the expansion of opportunities to export grain and fertiliser.”
Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported the European Union was considering a proposal to allow Rosselkhozbank, the Russian Agricultural Bank, to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a concession to Moscow. The intent was, reportedly, to safeguard the grain deal.
Russia’s move to pull out comes a week after it said it saw no reason to extend the grain deal beyond 17 July. Despite its withdrawal from the UN grain initiative, Russia has signalled it could rejoin the deal. Kremlin press secretary Dimitry Peskov told state media, "As soon as the Russian part of the agreements is fulfilled, the Russian side will return to the implementation of this deal immediately.”
Responding to Russia’s announcement that it will exit the grain deal, EU President Ursula von der Leyen posted to Twitter, "I strongly condemn Russia’s cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite UN and Turkey’s efforts. EU is working to ensure food security for the world’s vulnerable. EU Solidarity Lanes will continue bringing agrifood products out of Ukraine and to global markets."
A statement on the Black Sea Grain Initiative website from UN secretary general António Guterres said, "I deeply regret the decision by the Russian Federation to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative – including the withdrawal of Russian security guarantees for navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. This Initiative has ensured the safe passage of over 32M tonnes of food commodities from Ukrainian ports. The World Food Programme has shipped more than 725,000 tonnes to support humanitarian operations – relieving hunger in some of the hardest hit corners of the world, including Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Yemen. The Black Sea Initiative – together with the memorandum of understanding on facilitating exports of Russian food products and fertilisers – has been a lifeline for global food security and a beacon of hope in a troubled world. At a time when the production and availability of food is being disrupted by conflict, climate change, energy prices and more, these agreements have helped to reduce food prices by over 23% since March last year. With the decision to terminate the Black Sea Initiative, the Russian Federation also terminated its commitment to “facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil, and fertilisers from Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea Ports” as expressed in Paragraph 1 of the memorandum of understanding between the Russian Federation and the United Nations. Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice. But struggling people everywhere and developing countries don’t have a choice. Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price. Indeed, we are already seeing a jump in wheat prices this morning. I am aware of some obstacles that remained in the foreign trade of Russian food and fertiliser products. This is precisely why I sent a letter to President Putin with a new proposal to keep the Black Sea Initiative alive. In that letter – which I believe is necessary to quote at length – I underlined that, ’Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding, and also taking into account the measures adopted by the Russian Federation, Russian grain trade has reached high export volumes and fertiliser markets are stabilising with Russian exports nearing full recovery, as stated by the Russian Union of Grain Exporters and Russian Fertilizer Producers Association.’"
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