Russia has suspended participation in the UN-brokered agreement on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports after attacks on ships in Crimea, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday, citing TASS, Reuters reports.
The suspension will reduce Ukrainian grain exports from key Black Sea ports.
Russia told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a letter seen by Reuters that it was suspending the agreement for an “indefinite period” because it could not “guarantee the safety of civilian vessels” traveling under the agreement.
Russia has also asked the UN Security Council to hold a meeting on Monday regarding the attack, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmytro Polyanskyi said on Twitter.
Russia also accused the British Navy of a “terrorist attack” on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and said that British “specialists” facilitated the drone strike in Sevastopol.
Britain said on Saturday that Russian claims, including that British naval personnel blew up the Nord Stream pipeline last month, were false and aimed at deflecting attention from Russian military failures.
11:40 in the evening The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that Russia’s suspension of the agreement requires a decisive international response from the UN and the Group of 20 largest economies.
21:08 Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the President of Ukraine, noted on social media on Saturday evening that by its actions, Russia shows that negotiations with it are “a waste of time.”
“Nuclear blackmail, energy terror, grain blockade… Putin has turned food, cold and prices into weapons against the world. Putin’s Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe, taking Africa and the Middle East hostage. Proving once again: negotiations with Russia are a waste of time,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
19:10 The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Saturday accused Moscow of using a “false pretext” to suspend participation in the Black Sea Grain Corridor.
“We call on all states to demand that Russia stop its hunger games and re-commit,” Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
We warned about Russia’s plans to destroy the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Now, under false pretenses, Moscow is blocking the grain corridor that ensures food security for millions of people. I call on all states to demand that Russia stop its hunger games and re-commit.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 29, 2022
18:50 The United Nations is in contact with Russian authorities following reports that Moscow has suspended participation in an agreement to restore Ukrainian exports, a UN spokesman said Saturday.
“It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that could jeopardize the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is a vital humanitarian effort that clearly has a positive impact on access to food for millions of people around the world.” said the UN spokesman. Stéphane Dujarric.
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Russia said Ukrainian forces used drones to attack Black Sea Fleet ships in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russia-annexed Crimea, early Saturday.
“Given… the terrorist act of the Kyiv regime with the participation of British experts against ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the “grain corridor”, the Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” the message says. .
The ministry reported that earlier Saturday’s drone attacks were mostly repelled, one minesweeper “Ivan Golubets” was slightly damaged.
Under the July 22 agreement, Ukraine was able to resume grain and fertilizer exports to the Black Sea, which were halted when Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24. The export agreement with Ukraine was initially concluded for 120 days.
The importance of the agreement suspended by Russia
The agreement, reached in July, was intended to prevent famine due to exports of wheat, sunflower oil and fertilizer to world markets and ease a sharp rise in prices.
The UN’s World Food Program said at the time of the agreement that some 47 million people have entered the stage of “acute hunger” as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has halted Ukrainian transport.
The agreement, signed on July 22, was valid for 120 days, and the United Nations expected it to be extended if the war did not end by then. It ensured safe passage to and from Odesa and two other Ukrainian ports under a de facto ceasefire for ships carrying food.
According to UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Aid Martin Griffith, more than 9 million tons of grain and other food products have been exported since the signing of the agreement. He added that the agreement helped reduce food prices and increase export volumes.
On Wednesday, he said he was “relatively optimistic” that the deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports to resume from the Black Sea would be extended beyond mid-November.
Shortly before the announcement of the suspension of the grain agreement, the Minister of Agriculture of Russia again criticized the text, accusing EU countries of monopolizing Ukrainian exports, which should go to poor countries. According to AFP, these accusations were previously rejected by the coordination center located in Turkey.
“Unfortunately, the grain agreement not only did not solve the problems of countries in need, but actually in a certain sense exacerbated them,” said Dmytro Patrushev.
Read also:
Russia accuses Great Britain of undermining the Nord Stream gas pipeline and involvement in a mass drone attack on Sevastopol / Great Britain’s reaction
Source: Hot News RU
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