July 17 (UPI) — Russia said Monday it had terminated an agreement allowing Ukraine to ship out grain from its ports in the Black Sea.
Announcing the cancelation hours before the latest in a series of extensions was due to expire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov held out the prospect that the agreement could be revived, the official TASS news agency reported.
“The Black Sea agreements are no longer in effect. The deadline, as the Russian president said earlier, is July 17. Unfortunately, the part of the Black Sea agreement that concerns Russia has not yet been fulfilled. As a result, it has been terminated,” Peskov said.
“As soon as the Russian part [of the deal] is fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the implementation of this deal.”
Russia reportedly has grown increasingly frustrated over restrictions it believes are unfairly limiting its exports of grain and fertilizers, with the effect of also sabotaging the agreement’s stated goal of getting grain to the countries that need it.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Kyiv and Western nations of using the initiative for their own “self-serving interests,” at the expense of the low-income countries the plan was intended to help.
“If the Western capitals genuinely value the Black Sea Initiative, let them seriously consider the fulfillment of their commitments to lift the sanctions on Russian fertilizers and food,” it said. “Once concrete results rather than promises and assurances are in place, Russia will be ready to consider resuming the deal.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he regretted Russia’s decision to back away from the deal, which he noted had led to the safe passage of more than 32 million metric tons of food from Ukrainian ports.
“Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice. But struggling people everywhere and developing countries don’t have choice,” he said, noting a surge in the price of wheat following the announcement. “Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen strongly rebuked the move on Twitter, pledging to find another way to get the grain to global markets.
“I strongly condemn Russia’s cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite U.N. and Turkey’s efforts.
“The 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,” she wrote.
In Washington, the Biden administration condemned the suspension as an irresponsible and dangerous decision that will exacerbate food scarcity and harm millions already at risk. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby also argued against Russia’s assertions that low-income countries have not benefited from the deal, saying those nations have received more than half of all foodstuffs shipped under the initiative.
“Russia will be fully and solely responsible for the consequences of this military act of aggression,” Kirby told reporters. “We urge the government of Russia to immediately reverse its decision.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of weaponizing food.
“The cynical actions hurt the world’s most vulnerable,” he said in a statement.
The move is expected to increase grain prices, officials said.
The deal under which Russia agreed to lift its sea blockade of Ukraine to allow it to export some 25 million tons of grain marooned at its Black Sea ports in exchange for Russia being permitted to continue its fertilizer exports, was initially put into place last July and was extended several times in increments of 120 days. But recent extensions had been cut in half.
The agreement was part of an effort to alleviate global shortages and stabilize soaring prices of wheat and other cereals — affecting African countries in particular — triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Peskov said Moscow’s opposition to the latest extension of the grain deal had been expressed prior to an incident Monday that damaged the strategically important Crimean Bridge, which links Russia with the partitioned Ukrainian region of Crimea, and had no bearing on Moscow’s decision.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who negotiated the most recent 60-day extension announced May 17, said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin did not really want to terminate the agreement and pledged to raise the matter by phone ahead of a Ankara-Moscow summit in August.
