Moscow has announced that there are currently no talks on resuming the grain deal and that there are no grounds for conducting such.
"No, these talks are no longer taking place," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a related question. According to him, "the deal was never implemented in the part that refers to Russia and there is no prospect of the situation changing".
Regarding the attempts of the EU and Ukraine to organize alternative routes, the press secretary remained skeptical, and his words sounded like a threat: "as for the other roads, they are dangerous and full of risks" and added that "this is rather subject to the insurance companies and merchant shipowners involved in this'.
In conclusion, the Kremlin spokesman reiterated that "everyone there must be aware that they are facing enormous risks."
The grain deal ended on July 17, 2023. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his decision by claiming that the West had taken advantage of Ukrainian grain, while the main purpose of the deal was to send it to countries in need.
On August 10, the Ukrainian Navy announced so-called "temporary corridors" in the Black Sea for merchant ships heading to the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. However, Kiev has warned that a military and mine threat remains along the route, so ships whose owners and captains "officially confirm their readiness to sail in these conditions" are allowed to pass.
The UN, which organized the deal, noted that Ukraine's "temporary corridors" could not replace the grain deal in terms of volumes that could reach 4 million tons of food per month.
Turkey, which was a leading factor in the grain deal and was making tremendous efforts to preserve it, apparently also lost hope on the subject.
To date, the country is joining forces with Bulgaria and Romania to clear the Black Sea of mines that have been a danger to cargo ships since the beginning of the war. But Ankara, the guardian of the key waterway, said it would not allow other NATO countries to send warships to help.
Leave a comment