“The grain agreement, which the Russian and Ukrainian authorities had signed separately with Turkey in July, was, along with the prisoner exchanges, the only subject on which Moscow and Kyiv had managed to agree” since the invasion of Ukraine, observes The country.
Its future is now compromised, after the Kremlin’s decision on Saturday October 29 to suspend “indefinitely” its participation, in retaliation for drone attacks on its fleet in Sevastopol, which it attributes to Ukrainian and British forces, reports the agency Tass.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by the Russian agency, the Ukrainians have “used, as a cover, the humanitarian corridor created within the framework of the grain agreement” to lead their attack “massive” on Russian ships – a charge denied by kyiv and London.
Food crisis
The cereals agreement, concluded under the aegis of the UN, “is essential to alleviating the global food crisis caused by the conflict”highlighted Al Jazeera. To date, he has facilitated “the export of more than 9 million tons of Ukrainian grain”specifies the string.
According to the UN, exports made under the agreement “helped lower food prices and avert a global hunger crisis”écrit The New York Times.
Under the pact, “Ukrainian pilots guide ships through minefields” left by Ukrainian forces in Black Sea ports, before “the Russian Navy does not provide them with safe passage to Turkey, where teams made up of representatives from the three countries inspect the cargoes before they arrive at their destination”explains the New York daily.
US President Joe Biden ruled “scandalous” Russia’s decision, while its National Security Council has accused Moscow of using “food as a weapon”. The office of the UN secretary-general, for its part, urged the parties “to avoid any action that could jeopardize the grain agreement, which constitutes an essential humanitarian effort”.
Immediate consequences
According to food policy expert David Laborde, interviewed by The Daily TelegraphRussia’s decision will have immediate consequences: “wheat prices could rise 10% when markets open on Monday, and the effects of the decision will be felt for months, around the world”he says.
The Washington Post stresses that the Kremlin has been blowing hot and cold on the agreement over the past few weeks. “The negotiations on an extension of the pact [qui doit être renouvelé le 19 novembre] were tense even before the attack on the ships”Moscow “constantly complaining about the conditions of its implementation”writes the daily.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself said in his daily address on Saturday that “Russia had deliberately aggravated the food crisis as early as September, by blocking the movement of ships” transporting grain, which sometimes had to wait “more than three weeks” before you can sail, report The Kyiv Independent.