International Desk: After Russia suspended the grain export agreement, Moscow has commented that the movement of ships through the Black Sea Security Corridor is “unacceptable”.
As a result of the agreement signed between Moscow and Kiev on July 22, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, Ukraine was able to resume its grain exports. Reuters news.
But Moscow announced the suspension of the deal on Saturday after accusing Ukraine of drone attacks on its Black Sea fleet.
After that, in a statement on Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, “Ukrainian leaders and the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces used that security corridor to conduct military operations against the Russian Federation, and the passage of ships through that route is unacceptable.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “pulling themselves out of the agreement and blackmailing the world with hunger”.
Russia has made it clear that Russia has not withdrawn from the internationally mediated grain agreement with Ukraine, only suspended it. But the Russian Defense Ministry did not say anything about what Russia will do if the ships continue to operate on that route.
Despite Moscow’s announcement on Saturday, a record 354,500 tons of agricultural cargo ships left Ukrainian ports under the grain agreement on Monday, according to a spokesman for the military administration of Ukraine’s Odesa region.
Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin said that without Russia’s security commitments, the grain deal would be unlikely to work and its nature would change – becoming more risky, dangerous and uncertain.
