MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said the grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain safely through the Black Sea won’t be restored until the West met its obligations to facilitate Russian agricultural exports.
Putin made the statement after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who along with the UN had brokered the deal seen as vital for global food supplies, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other goods that developing nations rely on.
But Russia refused to extend the deal in July, complaining that an agreement promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertiliser hadn’t been honoured. It said restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade even though it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.
Putin said that if those commitments were honoured, Russia could return to the deal “within the nearest days”. He also said that Russia was close to finalising a pact to provide free grain to six African countries. The Russian leader added that Russia would ship 1 million metric tonnes (1.1 million tonnes) of cheap grain to Turkey for processing and delivery to poor countries.
Since Putin has withdrawn from the grain initiative, Erdogan has repeatedly pledged to renew arrangements that helped avoid a food crisis in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Erdogan said Ukraine should soften its negotiating position against Russia in talks over reviving the grain export deal. He said more grain needed to be destined for Africa rather than European countries.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said its troops had regained more territory on the eastern front and were advancing further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s forces had retaken about 3 square km (1.16 square miles) of land in the past week around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of heavy fighting.