The Kremlin yesterday said it was exiting a major agreement allowing grain exports from Ukraine hours after drones struck Russia’s only bridge connecting its mainland to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Moscow said the deadly Kerch Bridge attack had nothing to do with its withdrawal and for months has complained about the implementation of the pact, which was designed to ease fears of food shortages in vulnerable countries.
“The grain deal has ceased. As soon as the Russian part [of the agreements] are fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the grain deal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the move was not linked to the strike.
Photo: Crimea24TV / AFP
The announcement came hours after drones struck the sole road link connecting Russia to the annexed peninsula, a key supply line for Russian forces resupplying frontlines in the south of Ukraine.
Kyiv’s navy and SBU security service carried out a “special operation” using seaborne drones, an SBU source said.
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 past 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.
“The applications have not been approved by all parties,” the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), which oversees the agreement, said in a statement. “No new ships have been approved to participate since 27 June.”
Putin just last week signaled Russia’s intention to terminate the agreement saying Moscow’s interests were being ignored under the deal brokered by the UN and Turkey.
Despite the Kremlin’s statements, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared optimistic about the prospects of the grain deal being maintained.
“I think that despite today’s statement, my friend Putin wants to continue the agreement” that allows the export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea.
However, Putin has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the agreement, saying that elements of the deal allowing the export of Russian food and fertilizers have not been honored.
China and Turkey are the main beneficiaries of the grain shipments, as well as developed economies, JCC data showed
The deal has helped the World Food Programme bring relief to countries facing critical food shortages such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.
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