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☆ How Ukraine seized the upper hand against Russia in the battle for the Black Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Tim Lister | Victoria Butenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine has virtually no navy of its own, but technological innovation, audacity and Russian incompetence have given it the upper hand in much of the Black Sea. Rather than fold, the Ukrainians declared a unilateral “Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor” for merchant shipping and stepped up its use of maritime drones and missile attacks against Russia’s Black Sea fleet. One-third of the Black Sea fleet has been disabled or destroyed, and the remaining ships rarely venture into the western half of the sea. In August, Russia withdrew some of the Black Sea fleet from its headquarters in Sevastopol to relatively safer ports on the Russian coast. Russia is unlikely to be able to tilt the balance in the Black Sea back in its favor.

Persons: Caesar Kunikov, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Yoruk Isik, Russia’s, Zelensky, Dmytro Pletenchuk, ” Pletenchuk, ’ Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Reuters, Agriculture, UN, Initiative, NATO, Economy Ministry, Black Sea Initiative, Ukrainian, Russia, Maritime Autonomous Guard, Defense Intelligence, Drones, Both Defense Intelligence, Security Service, ’ AK, Black, Russian, Odesa, Montreux Convention – Locations: Crimea, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Washington, Novorossiysk, Sochi, ”, MAGURA, Krasnodar, Kerch, France, Snake, Odesa, Turkey, Black, Montreux, Moscow

JPMorgan had handled some Russian grain export payments for a few months with reassurances from Washington. However, that cooperation stopped in early August, said Russia's Foreign Ministry, after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal in July. UNDERMINING U.N. EFFORTSU.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday that Russia's bombardment was undermining U.N. efforts to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, U.N. officials agreed to help Russian exports reach global markets. "It has led many of those whose goodwill is needed, notably in the private sector, to question whether there is any real interest in re-joining the Black Sea Initiative."

Persons: Morgan, Sarah Meyssonnier, Moscow, James O'Brien, ”, O'Brien, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Michelle Nichols, Michael Perry Organizations: JPMorgan, REUTERS, Washington, State Department, Reuters, Wednesday, Foreign Ministry, State Department's Office, United Nations, Security, Black Sea Initiative, United, Russia's, Russian Foreign Ministry, Guterres, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Russia, New York, United Nations, Turkey, United

☆ U.N. chief calls for an end to $7 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Secretary-General António Guterres remarks on Russian termination of the Black Sea Initiative to deliver grain and fertilizers to the world market during a Security Council stakeout at the United Nations Headquarters. So said António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, in his opening remarks to the Climate Ambition Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. Burning fossil fuels release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, which is a key driver in climate change. "We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels," Guterres said. We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs and affordable clean power for all."

Persons: António Guterres, Guterres Organizations: Black Sea Initiative, United Nations Headquarters, United Nations, Climate Ambition, International Monetary Fund Locations: New York

U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Union Ursula von der Leyen attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, September 9, 2023. The summit declaration avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but highlighted the human suffering the conflict had caused and called on all states not to use force to grab territory. A failure to agree on a summit declaration would have signalled that the G20 was split, perhaps irrevocably, between the West on one side and China and Russia on the other, analysts said. Diplomats have said negotiators from India, Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa drove the consensus in the summit document. Despite the lack of concrete progress, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India's chief G20 coordinator, said the meeting did take the group forward.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Ursula von der Leyen, Evelyn Hockstein, Michael Froman, Svetlana Lukash, Lukash, Patryk Kugiel, ” Kugiel, Sergei Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, India's, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Vardhan, ”, Michel Rose, Aftab Ahmed, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Indian, European, REUTERS, Diplomats, African Union, India, Foreign Relations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Russian G20, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Xinhua, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Ukraine, Russia, York, U.S, China, Beijing, Russian, Warsaw, Delhi, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Britain

Police stand on a road outside 'Bharat Mandapam', the main venue of the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - India's strong leadership made it possible for G20 leaders to reach consensus in intense discussions on a summit message urging nations to shun use of force in territorial disputes, a senior European Union official said on Sunday. "Without India's leadership it would not have been possible," he added, referring to the summit declaration. The EU official, however, said there was not a single word on the Black Sea grain deal from Russia, which finds itself more isolated after the summit. The official said, "The European Union leadership made the points very strongly during the session.

Persons: Bharat Mandapam, Altaf Hussain, Putin, Manoj Kumar, Swati Bhat, Sudipto Ganguly, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Group, EU, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia

☆ Russia to Return to Grain Deal Once All Moscow's Conditions Met, Lavrov Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Katya GolubkovaNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Russia will return to the Black Sea grain deal 'the same day' as Moscow's conditions for export of its own grain and fertilisers to the global markets are met, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Sunday. Supplies were obstructed after Russia invaded Ukraine last year in what Moscow calls a 'special military operation'. The United Nations, Turkey and this year's G7 chair Japan are trying to facilitate the resumption of grain supplies. Ukraine opposes the idea of easing sanctions on Russia in order to revive a grain deal. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he was not 'hopeless' about reviving the deal, and Russia, Ukraine and Turkey would continue to discuss it.

Persons: Katya Golubkova, Sergei Lavrov, Russia, Lavrov, Tayyip Erdogan, SWIFT, General Antonio, Guterres, Christina Fincher Organizations: United, The United, Reuters, UN, Russian Agricultural Bank, SWIFT Locations: DELHI, Russia, United Nations, Turkey, New Delhi, Ukraine, Moscow, The United Nations, Japan, Turkish, Luxembourg

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Leaders' Declaration had been adopted on the first day of the weekend G20 summit in New Delhi. "On the back of the hard work of all the teams, we have received consensus on the G20 Leaders Summit Declaration. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the declaration had "very strong language about Russia's illegal war in Ukraine". The declaration also called for the implementation of the Black Sea initiative for the safe flow of grain, food and fertiliser from Ukraine and Russia. Despite the compromise over the Leaders' Declaration, the summit had been expected to be dominated by the West and its allies.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Evan Vucci, Germany's Scholz, Modi, Olaf Scholz, Rishi Sunak, Sergei Lavrov, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's, Biden, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Scholz, Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman, Japan's Fumio, Jon, Manoj Kumar, Katya Golubkova, Krishn Kaushik, Mayank Bhardwaj, Michel Rose, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Sanjeev Miglani, Jacqueline Wong, Kim Coghill, Alexander Smith Organizations: Indian, REUTERS Acquire, British, Foreign, INDIA, India's sherpa, Bharat, African Union, West, United Arab, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Ukraine, Russia, DELHI, Ukrainian, Moscow, CHINA, China, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Saudi, U.S, Delhi, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, United Arab Emirates

☆ Russian Agricultural Bank could have SWIFT access within 30 days, UN tells Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - A Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary in Luxembourg could immediately apply to SWIFT to "effectively enable access" for the bank to the international payments system within 30 days, the United Nations told Russia in a letter, seen by Reuters on Friday. A key Russian demand has been the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank, Rosselkhozbank, to the SWIFT international payments system. "SWIFT has already confirmed that an expedited application process could be possible, bringing the time for effective access within 30 days," Guterres wrote. Russian fertilizer companies would also have to apply to national authorities within the EU for exemptions and the U.N. would engage with the EU on those requests. "The United Nations can help clarify the authorization process for different EU ports and work with Russian counterparts on obtaining the authorizations/permits pre-departure, if required."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, SWIFT, Antonio Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Guterres, Lavrov, Russia's, RAB, John Neal, Lloyd's, Michelle Nichols, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Agricultural Bank, United Nations, Reuters, RSHB Capital S.A, Russian, Black Sea Initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry, UN Secretariat, SWIFT, European Union, UN, RAB, Facility, Lloyd's, RIC, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Russia, United, Moscow, Turkey, Ukraine, London, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands

☆ UN chief sends Russia bid to revive Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Turkish-flagged bulker TQ Samsun, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, is pictured in the Black Sea, north of Bosphorus Strait, off Istanbul, Turkey July 17, 2023. Two Turkish sources told Reuters the pair will meet on Monday and primarily discuss Black Sea grain exports. The Black Sea grain deal was intended to combat a global food crisis that the United Nations said had been worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "We cannot have a Black Sea initiative that moves from crisis to crisis, from suspension to suspension. Russia has said that if demands to improve its own exports of grain and fertilizer were met, it would consider resurrecting the Black Sea agreement.

Persons: Yoruk, António Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, Russia's, Guterres, Lavrov, Hakan Fidan, Michelle Nichols, Kanishka Singh, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Russian, United, Reuters, Turkish, Russian Agricultural Bank, SWIFT, Thomson Locations: Samsun, Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey, Russia, United Nations, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, EU

☆ Global food prices bounce following collapse of Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Global food prices ticked up last month after Russia pulled out of a deal to allow the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports. The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said Friday that its global Food Price Index rose 1.3% in July compared with the month before — notching only the second increase in a year of steady declines since the grain deal was struck. “International sunflower oil prices rebounded by more than 15% month-on-month, primarily underpinned by renewed uncertainties surrounding the exportable supplies out of the Black Sea region,” the FAO said in a statement. The FAO’s global wheat price index — which feeds into its broader Food Price Index — jumped 1.6% in July from the month before, its first monthly increase in nine months. Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure since the grain deal’s collapse have also bumped up prices in recent weeks.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, —, ” Putin, Shashwat Organizations: London CNN — Global, United Nations, Food, Agricultural Organization, FAO, —, UN, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, Gro Intelligence, East, International Rescue Locations: Russia, Russian, Somalia, Eritrea, Ukraine, Asia, North America, East, East Africa

☆ US to keep Russia's food exports flowing if grain deal revived, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russia last month quit the July 2022 deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey aimed at easing a global food crisis after Russia's invasion of Ukraine five months earlier. PRICING PRESSURESBlinken told reporters that Russia's exports of food have exceeded levels prior to its invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations has argued that the Black Sea deal helped everyone because it brought prices down 23% from a record high in the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After Moscow quit the deal, it began targeting Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure on the Black Sea and Danube River, sending global grain prices soaring. Moscow has said it may resurrect the Black Sea agreement if its demands to improve its own exports of grain and fertilizer are met.

Persons: Mehmet Bey, Mehmet Emin Calsikan, Antony Blinken, we'll, Blinken, Russia's, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Polyanskiy, Moscow, Vladimir Putin, Michelle Nichols, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Katharine Jackson, Jonathan Oatis, Susan Heavey Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, United, United Nations, Security, Russia, JPMorgan, The United Nations, European, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Yenikapi, Istanbul, Turkey, United States, Russia, United Nations, Ukraine, Moscow, Washington, Africa, Asia, America

☆ Even Pope Francis is calling on Russia to rejoin the Black Sea grain initiative as wheat prices spike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis called on Russia to restore the Black Sea grain deal Sunday. “I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, so that the Black Sea initiative may be resumed and grain may be transported safely,” Francis said. "I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, so that the Black Sea initiative may be resumed and grain may be transported safely," Francis said during his weekly Angelus message, delivered to Roman Catholics worldwide. Benchmark wheat prices had their biggest one-day jump in over a decade the week Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, a United Nations-brokered agreement that had allowed Ukraine to export grains and oilseeds through a safe shipping corridor for the past year. As well as Pope Francis, top policymakers from the UN and European Union have warned that Russia's latest economic assault on the West will make it much more expensive for poorer countries to import grain.

Persons: Pope Francis, Moscow, ” Francis, Francis, Angelus, Pope, António Guterres, Josep Borrell Organizations: UN, Russian Federation, Service, United Nations, Chicago Board of Trade, Kremlin, European Union Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Pope urges Russian 'brothers' to restore Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, July 30 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called on Russia to reverse its decision to abandon the Black Sea grain deal, under which it had allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the ongoing war. "I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, so that the Black Sea initiative may be resumed and grain may be transported safely," Francis said during his weekly Angelus message. Global wheat prices have spiked since Russia on July 17 quit the pact, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022, and began targeting Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure on the Black Sea and Danube River. Addressing crowds in St Peter's Square, the pope urged the faithful to continue praying "for martyred Ukraine, where war is destroying everything, even grain," calling this "a grave insult to God." Russia walked out of the Black Sea deal after saying its demands to ease sanctions on its own grain and fertilizer exports had not been met.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Angelus, Vladimir Putin, Azali Assoumani, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Zuppi, Alvise Armellini, Angus MacSwan, Susan Fenton Organizations: CITY, Russian Federation, United, African Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United Nations, Turkey, St Peter's, Moscow, Africa, Kyiv, Washington

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv faces sixth attack this month; Zelenskyy says Ukraine grain export ban 'unacceptable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Mykola, 50, the deputy commander of a Ukrainian volunteer unit, poses with a night vision scope at a position used by the unit to counter threats during air raid sirens, in a suburb of Kyiv. Kyiv faced its sixth air attack this month early Tuesday, the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram, but all drones were detected and destroyed "in a timely manner," according to a Google translation. There were no casualties and the city was not damaged, KCMA head Serhiy Popko wrote. External forces have continued to urge Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which it abandoned on July 17, prompting a surge in wheat prices. "With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the U.N. food summit on Tuesday.

Persons: Mykola, Serhiy Popko, Antonio Guterres Organizations: Kyiv, Kyiv City Military Administration, Initiative, Black Sea Initiative Locations: Ukrainian, Kyiv, Ukraine, Odesa, Russia

☆ UN chief urges Russia to return to Black Sea deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia quit the agreement a week ago, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal. "With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price," Guterres told the U.N. Food Systems summit in Rome on Monday. Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures have risen sharply. "I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal," Guterres said. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, SWIFT, Russia's, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Black Sea Initiative, . Food Systems, Russia's Agricultural Bank, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Russia, Rome, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Moscow, Turkey

☆ Russia and Ukraine just turned much of the Black Sea into a dangerous no man's land
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged threats this week to ships sailing through the Black Sea. The Kremlin then went much further, warning it may attack any vessels it believes are bound for Ukraine, effectively turning the Black Sea into a no man's land. They added that Moscow even published a video claiming to have detected and detonated an alleged Ukrainian sea mine. "Our information indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports. Turkish-flagged bulker TQ Samsun, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, transits Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey July 18, 2023.

Persons: Biden, Adam Hodge, António Guterres, —, Matthew Miller, Lasalle, Mark Duncan, Washington didn't Organizations: Service, United Nations, AP, White, Security, REUTERS, Black Sea Initiative, UN, US State, US Naval Institute Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Kremlin, Odesa, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Crimea, Azov, Samsun, Istanbul, Turkey, Iran, Persian, Iraq, Hormuz, Kuwait, Soviet, Iraqi, American

☆ Ukraine's farmers fear the worst after grain deal collapses
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Of the 60,000 tons of produce grown on Huizinga's land last year, 50,000 tons was sent abroad through the grain deal. In total, Ukraine has been able to export 33 million tons of agricultural products through the deal. Some of Ukraine's western neighbours have restricted imports of Ukrainian grain under pressure from their farmers, who said they were suffering from the added competition. Ukraine expects to harvest 44 million tons of grain this year, down from a record 86 million-ton harvest in 2021. Both Marchuk and Huizinga believe grain shipments should continue through the Black Sea even without Russia's participation in the deal.

Persons: Artem Nechai, Kees Huizinga, Huizinga, Denys Marchuk, Max Hunder, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Agricultural, Reuters, United, Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Cherkasy region, Russia, Netherlands, Cherkasy, Eastern, United Nations, Turkey, Russian, Groningen, Romania, Izmail

☆ A landmark agricultural deal that guarantees food security for tens of millions is set to expire on Monday as Russia debates its renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to ship more than 30 million tons of produce from three major ports, helping to bring down global food prices down after they spiked following Russia's invasion. Last week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin outlining proposals to salvage the deal. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Nacho Doce | ReutersBefore Russian troops poured over Ukraine's borders in late February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow accounted for almost a quarter of global grain exports. Those agricultural shipments came to a halt for nearly six months until representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the U.N. and Turkey agreed to establish a humanitarian sea corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. One of Moscow's top demands though is for the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, to return to the SWIFT banking system.

Persons: Akos Stiller, Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Sean Gallup, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, That's, SWIFT Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images WASHINGTON, Kremlin, REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Food, Sea Initiative, Russian Agricultural Bank, Society, Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Locations: Bicske, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, UN, Turkey, Odesa, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Yuzhny, Moscow's

☆ UN aid chief to Russia: Don't 'chuck away' Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The world has seen the value of the Black Sea Initiative ... this isn't something you chuck away," the U.N.'s Martin Griffiths told reporters. Zelenskiy said the Black Sea deal was important to help the world fight hunger. Russia has described the Black Sea deal and the agreement to facilitate its own exports as a single package. The Black Sea deal allows for ammonia exports - a key ingredient in nitrate fertilizer - but none has shipped. As the expiration date looms, the Black Sea grain deal is grinding to a halt.

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Zelenskiy, Griffiths, Michelle Nichols, Elaine Monaghan, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Doina Chiacu, Grant McCool Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, U.N, United Nations, Black Sea Initiative, United, Zelenskiy, Russian Federation, Russian Agricultural Bank, International Energy Agency, Sezer, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Odesa, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Istanbul, Russian, United, United States, European Union, Britain, Togliatti, Washington, Kyiv

☆ Russia rejects bank compromise as Black Sea grain expiry looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With 13 days remaining until expiry of the deal that has allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports despite Russia's invasion, Moscow said there had been no progress on any of its key demands, including the banking issue. She also rejected a U.N. attempt to create an alternative payment channel between Rosselkhozbank and U.S. bank JP Morgan (JPM.N). Russia says the severing of the bank's access to SWIFT is one of the obstacles facing its own exports of food and fertiliser, and that it cannot keep renewing the Black Sea deal unless those issues are addressed. The United Nations says the deal has so far allowed the export of more than 32 million metric tons of food from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports to 45 countries on three continents. Its foreign ministry said the Black Sea initiative had delivered Ukrainian grain to "well-fed" countries but failed to help those that needed it most in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, JP Morgan, SWIFT, Zakharova, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, David Goodman Organizations: Financial Times, European Union, Foreign Ministry, SWIFT, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Rosselkhozbank, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia

☆ UN efforts to save Black Sea grain deal to continue in coming days
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The final two ships are due to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday under the Black Sea deal, said a U.N. spokesperson. "The (Black Sea) Initiative refers to the export of ammonia, but this has not yet been realized," Griffiths said. "While Russia keeps Ukrainian grain supplies from feeding the hungry, Russia is successfully exporting its own bumper crop of grain," Deputy U.S. 'CRUCIAL'Nebenzia again complained that not enough poor countries were benefiting from the Black Sea grain deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to deliver Russian grain and fertilizers free of charge to African countries.

☆ World food prices rise for first time in a year, UN food agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 127.2 points last month against 126.5 for March, the agency said on Friday. "As economies recover from significant slowdowns, demand will increase, exerting upward pressure on food prices," said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero. While the meat index rose 1.3% month-on-month, dairy prices dipped 1.7%, vegetable oil prices fell 1.3% and the cereal price index shed 1.7%, with a decline in world prices of all major grains outweighing an increase in rice prices. World cereal utilisation in the 2022/23 period was seen at 2.780 billion tonnes, FAO said, down 0.7% from 2021/22. World cereal stocks by the close of the 2022/2023 seasons are expected to ease by 0.2% from their opening levels to 855 million tonnes.

UNITED NATIONS – The basic food security of tens of millions across the globe is hanging by a thread as Russia mulls whether it will preserve a deal that has permitted Ukrainian grain to move through the Black Sea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday renewed threats of abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that allows the safe wartime export of agricultural products from besieged Ukrainian ports. Lavrov also said that the deal is currently one-sided since Russian fertilizers have not been able to transit the same way Ukrainian grain has. "It was not called the grain deal it was called the Black Sea Initiative and in the text itself the agreement stated that this applies to the expansion of opportunities to export grain and fertilizer," Lavrov told reporters during a press conference. Lavrov said there are dozens of Russian cargo vessels carrying some 200,000 tons of fertilizer stuck at European ports.

April 19 (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of sabotaging the Black Sea grain deal by demanding bribes from ship owners to register new vessels and carry out inspections under the cover of a deal the United Nations hopes could ease a global food crisis. There was no immediate comment on the allegation, levelled by Russia's Foreign Ministry, from Ukraine which has blamed Moscow for problems with the agreement. Russia and Ukraine both say the deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, is in danger of collapsing just as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have imposed import bans on Ukrainian grain. The problems were caused "solely as a result of the actions of Ukrainian representatives, as well as U.N. representatives, who, apparently, do not want or cannot resist them," she said. Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's key agricultural producers, and major players in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets.

☆ UN chief raises concerns with Russia about Ukraine grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United Nations has said no ships were inspected on Tuesday under the deal - agreed in July last year - "as the parties needed more time to reach an agreement on operational priorities." The deal saw a resumption of Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports, which had been halted by Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. All ships are inspected by officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in waters near Turkey on the way in and out of Ukraine. The United Nations said there are dozens of ships waiting to be inspected before they travel to Ukraine. Last month, Russia agreed to renew the grain export deal for at least 60 days, half the intended period, and Moscow has said it would only consider a further extension if several demands in relation to its own exports were met.

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