While addressing the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Russia has agreed to resume the Black Sea Grain Initiative from midday on Thursday following a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
The Russian Ministry of Defence also confirmed the development, saying, “It was possible to obtain the necessary written guarantees from Ukraine on the non-use of the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports designated for the export of agricultural products for conducting military operations against the Russian Federation,” adding that it appeared “sufficient” to resume the implementation of the agreement.
Love him or hate him, there's no-one else right now with the connections he has. Increasingly likely that any settlement to end the war in Ukraine is struck at his table.
— Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) November 2, 2022
Nevertheless, during a meeting with the permanent member of his Security Council, Putin warned, “Russia reserves the right to withdraw from these agreements if Ukraine violates these guarantees.” “If Ukraine breaks its vows and we withdraw from this agreement, we will supply the entire volume of grain that has been so far delivered from the territory of Ukraine to the poorest countries free of charge,” he underscored.
Putin also affirmed that Russia will not “obstruct” grain shipments from Ukraine to Turkey “in any way in the future,” considering Ankara’s neutral status, Turkey’s grain processing industry capabilities, or Erdoğan’s “efforts to ensure the interests of the poorest economies.”
I thanked 🇹🇷 President @RTErdogan for his active participation in preserving the grain deal, for his steadfast support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We discussed further steps to return 🇺🇦 POWs and political prisoners. I also count on support of 🇹🇷.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 2, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the news, asserting that “Russian blackmail has led nowhere.” He also thanked Erdoğan for his “effective” response. Concerning Russia’s demand for security guarantees, Zelensky remarked that it showed “both the failure of Russian aggression and how strong you and I are when we remain united.”
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, too, “warmly welcomed” Russia’s announcement, with a spokesperson revealing that Guterres “remains committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertiliser.”
Following Russia’s announcement, the prices of wheat, soybeans, corn, and rapeseed plummeted.
We are grateful for the active role of the @UN and our Turkish allies in facilitating Russia’s return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative. We urge all parties to renew the Initiative. Failure to do so would hurt the world’s most vulnerable.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 2, 2022
On Saturday, Russia suspended the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Turkey and the United Nations (UN) for “an indefinite period” following a drone strike on its Black Sea Fleet’s ships in Sevastopol, which Ukraine denounced as “rather predictable.” However, the UN and Turkey were able to transport a record 354,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain without Russia’s involvement on Monday.
Over 9.5 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed and soy have been exported since July after the UN and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed.
The deal is slated to expire on 19 November, and negotiations to continue it are ongoing, with the participation of all the parties.