In a development of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin announced today (Monday) the practical end of the Ukrainian grain export agreement, stressing that Russia is ready to return to it immediately when it meets its conditions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Black Sea agreement has practically ended today, and as soon as the part related to Russia (in the agreement) is met, Moscow will immediately return to the agreement on grain, explaining that the decision not to renew the agreement has nothing to do with the attack that took place on the bridge linking Russia and the peninsula. Crimea accused Ukraine of carrying it out.
Peskov said, “The two matters have nothing to do with each other at all. Even before the terrorist attack, President Putin announced the situation.” This came at a time when Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had officially informed Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations that it opposes extending the grain export agreement. in the Black Sea.
Moscow’s ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov, stated that his country had officially informed Ukraine through the Russian embassy in Minsk that it would suspend its participation in the grain export agreement across the Black Sea, adding that the embassy had sent a notification to Ukraine through diplomatic channels, and that the agreement would expire as of July 18.
It is noteworthy that the agreement, which was mediated by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aims to alleviate the severity of the global food crisis by opening the door to safe export of Ukrainian grain that was prevented by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. .