No Prospect of Reviving Black Sea Grain Deal, Russian Diplomat Says

Russian officials remain in contact with their Turkish counterparts on issues of maritime navigation through the Black Sea, a senior Russian diplomat told the Interfax news agency on Monday, but Moscow sees no immediate prospect of renewing the Black Sea grain initiative.

“We’re considering proposals from various countries. We’re in dialogue with all countries, including Turkey,” Alexander Alimov, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department of international organizations, was quoted as saying.

“But for now, I don’t see any prospects for reviving the ‘grain deal’,” Alimov said, referring to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement brokered by Turkey and the UN in 2022 to prevent a global food shortage. 

That original deal enabled the safe transport of nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian agricultural exports. 

Russia backed out of the arrangement in the summer of 2023, claiming Western sanctions continued to hamper Russian food and fertilizer exports and alleging Ukraine was using the maritime corridor for military operations.

Since this summer, Ukraine and Russia have ramped up their attacks on commercial vessels and port infrastructure in the Black Sea, creating major disruptions to shipping and driving wheat prices higher on global markets.

Turkey, which has maintained good relations with both countries since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, has for months tried to negotiate a maritime security agreement between the countries.

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