The Black Sea grain deal, which has allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea despite the ongoing war, won’t be renewed, the Kremlin has announced.
Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the deal expiring on July 17 will be “terminated”, adding Russia had not seen its demands being “fulfilled”.
Mr Peskov said: “In fact, the Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today. Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated.”
Moscow has been complaining for months about what it perceived as obstacles in its exports of grain and fertiliser.
The Kremlin spokesman continued: “As soon as the Russian part of the agreements is fulfilled, the Russian side will return to the implementation of this deal, immediately.”
Mr Peskov also noted the position of the Russian Federation on the grain deal was “absolutely unrelated” to the incident on the Crimean Bridge, believed to be a military attack carried out by Kyiv’s navy and security service forces.
He said: “These are absolutely unrelated events. Even before the terrorist attack, the position was declared by president Putin.”
Hours prior to this momentous announcement by the Kremlin, a senior Russian politician had called on Moscow not to renew the deal in the wake of the deadly incident at Kerch Bridge.
After calling for the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure as a retaliatory act, Sergei Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia party, wrote on Telegram: “That is what we need to do, and not discuss a grain deal that helps Kyiv’s rulers and their western masters line their pockets. There can be no grain deal after another terrorist attack.”
Kyiv’s government hasn’t yet claimed responsibility for the incident at the bridge – a key infrastructure linking the Moscow-occupied territory to Russia – but sources have claimed the Ukrainian navy and security service were behind it.
The deal ended by Russia was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to allow Ukraine to resume shipping food from its southern ports despite the war against Moscow.
The deal had previously been extended three times.
As Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s top grain exporters, a blockade will send food prices soaring across the world – and in particular Europe.
Over the last year alone, the deal allowed the transit of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain.
Millions more will now be barred from transit unless the UN and Mr Erdogan can remove the hurdles to Russia exporting its fertilisers – something the UN’s secretary general, Antonio Guterres, is in favour of.
Arkady Zlochevsky, president of the Russian Grain Union, celebrated the end of the deal as he claimed it “only harmed” his country.
