Vladimir Putin threatens to quit Ukrainian grain export deal
Russia plans to leave the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals due in particular to the non-respect, according to Moscow, of clauses on the export of Russian fertilizers, Vladimir Putin said again during a televised meeting with correspondents Russian warfare.
“We are now considering withdrawing from this grain agreement (…). Many conditions that were to be applied have not been met”, Mr. Putin said. He also accused kyiv of using the maritime corridors provided for in this agreement to attack the Russian fleet with drones.
A Russian ship in the Black Sea “was attacked by a drone yesterday or the day before”, he assured, seeming to refer to an attack against a Russian ship with remote-controlled speedboats that Moscow claimed to have foiled on Sunday. For the Russian soldiers who fight at the front, “it is probably not clear why we are maintaining this agreement”Mr. Putin said.
Russia regularly threatens to withdraw from this Ukrainian grain agreement concluded in July 2022 with the sponsorship of the United Nations and Turkey. This crucial agreement, which helped alleviate the global food crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine, has been extended several times since, the last time in May, for two months, after intense negotiations.
Moscow is demanding compliance with a second agreement signed at the same time with the UN to facilitate its own exports of food products and fertilizers. In particular, Russia demands the resumption of operation of the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline for deliveries of ammonia, an essential chemical component of mineral fertilizer. But an explosion on a portion of this infrastructure last week in northeastern Ukraine, for which Moscow and kyiv hold themselves responsible, risks having a ” negative impact “ on the future of the grain agreement, warned the Kremlin.