CNN —Russia said Monday it was suspending its participation in a crucial deal that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain, once again raising fears over global food supplies and scuppering a rare diplomatic breakthrough to emerge from Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Peskov left the door open to reviving the deal in the future, saying that Russia will comply “as soon as the Russian part (of the deal) is completed.”A ship carries grain from Ukraine last week.
Mehmet Emin Caliskan/ReutersUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week accused Russia of using the grain deal “as a weapon.”The deal allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports and and navigate safe passage through the waterway to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait.
It proved vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries which rely on Ukrainian exports.
There are alternative routes for Ukrainian grain and oilseed exports by rail through eastern Europe, but they can’t readily cope with the volume that Ukraine wants to export.
Persons:
Dmitry Peskov, “, Peskov, ”, Vladimir Putin, Mehmet Emin Caliskan, Antony Blinken, Ukraine’s
Organizations:
CNN, United Nations, ”, Reuters, Food Programme, European Commission, Agriculture Organization, FAO, UN
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Istanbul, Kyiv, Moscow, ” Russia, Russian, Crimea, Sevastopol, Europe