Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said today that Ukraine’s agreement to release grain exports could be broken if Russian shipments are not cleared from customs as well.
“These two documents were signed at the same time, so they have to be applied in exactly the same way,” he told reporters, according to the Russian agency Interfax.
Last week, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to allow exports of wheat and other grains via the Black Sea. The agreement was signed in Istanbul in the presence of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The purpose of the document is to eliminate the risk of a global food crisis caused by the Russian navy blocking Ukrainian ports. Before the war, about 90% of Ukraine’s wheat, corn and sunflower exports were made by sea.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, on the same occasion, a document was signed that will facilitate the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products to international markets. However, Rudenko said he expects exports to start in the “near future”.
Last Saturday (23), the Russians launched missiles into the Odessa port area in southern Ukraine, raising fears that the grain deal would derail. But President Vladimir Putin’s government said the attack was aimed only at military infrastructure and would not affect the deal.
The global wheat shortage is one of the most far-reaching effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is now in its sixth month.
*With Information from RFI, AFP and Reuters
source: Noticias
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