Russia Backs Out of Wartime Grain Deal with Ukraine

Russia Backs Out of Wartime Grain Deal with Ukraine

Time Stamp: July 18, 2023 12:00 AM
Source Node: 2770292

The Russian government announced July 17 it was backing out of a wartime trade deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain exports to other countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia via the Black Sea, according to the Associated Press.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would be suspending its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative until the country’s demands to export its food and fertilizer to the rest of the world are met.

“When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal,” he said.

Peskov said the decision to back out of the agreement was unrelated to an attack that took place earlier on the same day on the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea. Though Russian officials blame Ukraine for the attack, Kyiv has not accepted responsibility for the assault.

The suspension of the grain initiative caused wheat prices to grow by 3% in Chicago trading, topping out at $6.81 a bushel before prices fell later in the day.

The grain deal, which allows Ukraine to export the commodity to other nations via the Black Sea amid the ongoing war with Russia, provided assurances that ships entering and leaving Ukrainian ports wouldn’t be attacked by Russia, while a different agreement enabled the movement of Russian fertilizer and food.

Despite the new lack of safety assurances, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country is not afraid of any potential action from Russia, and that Ukraine is ready to continue supplying grain to other nations around the world if Turkey will still allow Ukrainian ships to pass through the Dardanelles, which gives access from the Black Sea to the rest of the world.

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