The Kremlin announced on Monday July 17, its withdrawal from a significant agreement that facilitated Ukraine’s grain exports. This comes after drones targeted the sole bridge linking mainland Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Moscow, which has for months complained about the implementation of the grain pact, said the attack on the Kerch bridge had nothing to do with its withdrawal from the deal designed to avoid food shortages in vulnerable countries.
But President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to keep exporting grain via the Black Sea despite Russia’s exit from the deal.
Moscow’s announcement came hours after drones hit the sole road link connecting Russia to the annexed Crimea peninsula, a key supply line for Russian forces in the south of Ukraine.
Russian authorities said a civilian couple was killed and their daughter wounded in the attack on the bridge, which was also damaged last year in a blast that Moscow blamed on Kyiv.
Over the course of the last year, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has enabled the export in cargo of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain.
But those transports have come to a halt because of Russia’s refusal so far to renew the deal, which was brokered by the UN and Turkey.
Putin has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the arrangement, arguing that elements of the deal allowing the export of Russian food and fertilizers have not been honored.
According to data from the JCC, China and Turkey are the main beneficiaries of the grain shipments, as well as developed economies.
The deal has helped the World Food Program bring relief to countries facing critical food shortages such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.
The news had a limited impact on international wheat prices, which are down by nearly a quarter from one year ago.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been working hard to get the deal renewed and supports removing hurdles to Russia exporting its fertilizers.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
