Russia has warned that it might not extend the Black Sea grain initiative next month unless certain demands are met, in a move that threatens to cut off exports from Ukraine under a secured route set up in July by the United Nations.
Gennady Gatilov, Russia's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said in an interview with Reuters news agency on Thursday that Moscow had sent a letter to the U.N. with complaints about the deal not being implemented to facilitate Russia's own fertilizer and grain exports. "If we see nothing is happening on the Russian side of the deal — export of Russian grains and fertilizers — then excuse us, we will have to look at it in a different way," he said.
The threat comes after a fiery explosion that partly destroyed a strategic bridge connecting Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula. Russian forces are in retreat in the east and south, seven months into the war. And President Vladimir Putin is more isolated than ever after an overwhelming vote at the United Nations to condemn Moscow's unilateral annexation of Ukrainian territory.
The current deal, created in July for an initial four months, allows Ukrainian grain to flow out of ports in the Odesa region. As of October 12, more than 7 million tons of Ukrainian grain had left the country through the secured route, according to the U.N.'s Joint Coordination Centre.
Over the past few months, Ukrainian officials have grown increasingly worried about how long the deal could last as Ukraine continued to successfully ramp up grain exports through its ports in the Odesa region — rebuilding an economic lifeline for Kyiv and critical food supplies for hungry populations around the world.
Those fears have now been confirmed.
"Russia is doing exactly what we warned: renewing hunger games and threatening the Black Sea grain initiative," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted in response to Gatilov's warning. "I want every African, Asian, Middle Eastern family to know: Ukraine puts forward no additional demands, we want the corridor to keep working."
Putin has criticized the agreement, claiming falsely that the vast majority of the exported grain is going to rich countries in Europe rather than vulnerable countries. Russia claims that "the second portion of this deal is absolutely not being performed so far," Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters Thursday, according to Russian state-backed news outlet TASS.
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