Grain deal deadline expired: Russia does not extend, Kiev also wants to continue without Moscow | Abroad

It is not yet clear what the situation will look like in the near future. The last grain ship to operate under the grain deal left Ukraine on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes to continue the deal without Russia with Turkey and the United Nations, which were involved in the conclusion and implementation of the agreements. According to Zelensky, UN chief Antonio Guterres has pledged to cooperate.

Moscow will only go back on the deal if its demands are met, it sounds. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called the Russian attitude “unacceptable”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks of “blackmail” on Monday evening. He wants to continue with the agreement without Russia if necessary.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the news in a meeting with reporters. Russia also officially informed Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations that it was against an extension of the agreement. The country is only willing to go back on the grain deal after Russia’s demands are met, Peskov said.

The country especially wants the West to lift sanctions that would prevent the export of grain and fertilizer by Russia. According to Washington, the complaint is not justified, because the export of Russian grain has not shrunk, but is increasing in size. Ukraine and Russia are two of the largest grain exporters in the world.

The Russian food exporters themselves are not part of Western sanctions, but experience the punitive measures as trade obstacles. For example, because Russian banks are no longer connected to the international SWIFT payment system, it would be more difficult for agricultural companies to trade. According to the Reuters news agency, the European Union is therefore considering allowing Rosselkhozbank (the Agriculture Bank) back into SWIFT.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week that Russian President Putin had agreed to an extension of the deal, and remains convinced. However, the Kremlin would not confirm that at the time. Putin also said on Saturday that his demands for the deal were not being respected.

The latest Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea to mainland Russia, has not influenced the decision, Peskov said. “These are absolutely unrelated events,” he said. “Even before this terrorist attack, the position was already announced by President Putin.”

The grain agreement negotiated between Russia and Ukraine last summer after mediation by Turkey and the UN has so far been extended three times. The UN hoped it would happen again before it ends at 11 p.m. today.

According to Bloomberg news agency, more than 32 million tons of Ukrainian grain were shipped in a year, leading to a fall in prices that had risen to record highs because of the war. In July, however, only 250,000 tonnes were still being transported, after new ships seeking to join the deal were blocked.

Ukraine’s Western allies are unhappy with Russia’s decision to abandon the deal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal “unacceptable”. According to the US minister, this decision will drive up food prices.

Moscow’s choice “to use food as a weapon will make it more difficult to deliver food to places that need it most and lead to higher prices,” said Blinken.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks of a “cynical decision” that she strongly condemns. She stressed that the European Union will continue its efforts to bring grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine to the world market.

European Council President Charles Michel pointed out that the agreement has benefited millions of people all along. “I regret Russia’s announcement. This will jeopardize food security and access to grain and fertilizers for people around the world.”

Earlier, Germany had already launched a call to allow the extension of the agreement. “The poorest people on the planet should not bear the consequences of this conflict,” said deputy spokeswoman Christiane Hoffman. Berlin does not want the grain agreement to be extended for a specific period and advocates an agreement for the longer term.

The British government called the Russian decision “deeply disappointing”. “If Russia does not renew the deal, it will deny millions of people essential access to grain,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. He stressed that negotiations are continuing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Ukraine wants to continue exporting its grain through the Black Sea, despite Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal. That is possible, provided that the deliveries are protected against “Russian madness”. According to him, it is the perfect opportunity to show the world that “blackmail should not determine who gets enough food on the table”.

Whether the grain deal will not be extended in extremis remains to be seen, but Ukraine is willing to continue to export its grain anyway. Zelensky has sent letters to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He reported this in his daily video address on Monday evening.

Speaking to the British public broadcaster BBC, the president of the Ukrainian Grain Association said its members have identified alternative routes for grain exports, including via the river Danube. But this route is less efficient, which would reduce the amount of grain that can be exported, while increasing logistics costs.

Hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens will pay the price for Russia blowing up the international agreement for the export of Ukrainian grain. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today.

“Hundreds of millions of people face hunger as consumers face a global crisis of living costs. They will pay the price,” Guterres told reporters. He fears that Russia’s decision will “deal a blow to people in need everywhere in the world”.