TIG Post

Tag: grain deal

  • Ukraine accuses Russia for destruction of about 40,000 tonnes of grain

    Ukraine accuses Russia for destruction of about 40,000 tonnes of grain

    Approximately 40,000 tonnes of grain have been reported as damaged due to Russia’s actions, according to Ukraine’s deputy prime minister. These grains were initially destined for African nations.

    Oleksandr Kubrakov communicated on the social media platform Twitter, stating, “The Russians attacked warehouses and grain elevators – almost 40 thousand tons of grain were damaged, which was expected by the countries of Africa, China, and Israel.”

    “The world must resist. Attacks on Ukrainian ports are a threat to the world. We can defend ourselves, and our air defence forces can use weapons effectively. We need more of it. Each air defence system saved a life. Speed and determination are the destiny of the strong ones.”

  • Erdogan, Zelenskyy congratulate each other over grain deal extension

    Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan talked on the phone with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and congratulated each other for the extension of an UN-brokered grains deal, Erdogan’s office said.

    Erdogan told Zelenskyy that the grains deal and the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine were positive experiences and that the “extension of this understanding to the negotiation table” would benefit all parties.

    Source: Aljazeera.com 

  • Ukraine grain deal to consider African nations in need ASL TIA carrying Ukranian grains

    Turkey’s president has said a deal to free up grain exports from Ukraine will consider African countries struggling with supplies.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had discussed sending grain to African countries.

    “The situation in Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan is not good at all. If there is a problem in any other less developed countries, we will carry out shipments to these countries,” Mr Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster ATV.

    The grain deal was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July, bringing to an end a five-month Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports that trapped millions of tonnes of grain and sunflower oil and sent food prices soaring.

    The deal ends on 19 November and those involved still have to agree on extending it.

    Russia had suspended support for grain exports but agreed this week to restart its participation in the agreement.

    Source: BBC

  • Grain deal: Putin warns Russia could withdraw again if Ukraine ‘violates’ guarantees

    President Vladimir Putin has threatened to walk away from the Ukraine grain deal again if Kyiv breaches the security guarantees that Moscow claims it has provided.

    “Russia retains the right to leave these agreements if these guarantees from Ukraine are violated,” Putin said in televised comments hours after Russia announced it was rejoining the deal.

    Moscow said it had received assurances from Kyiv that it would not use the secure shipping corridor or its designated Ukrainian ports for attacks against Russia.

    Putin affirmed the receipt of those commitments and said that if Russia withdrew once more because of Ukrainian breaches, it would substitute the entire volume of grain destined for the “poorest countries” for free from its own stocks.

    But, in a nod to Turkey’s influence, as well as what he called its “neutrality” in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, Putin added: “In any case, we will not in the future impede deliveries of grain from Ukrainian territory to the Turkish Republic.”

     

  • West urges Russia to undo Ukraine grain deal suspension

    Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea agreement after accusing Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack in Crimea.

    Western governments are urging Russia to reverse its decision to withdraw from an UN-brokered grain deal, which undermines efforts to alleviate the global food crisis, with Ukraine claiming Moscow planned the move well in advance.

    In July, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations under which Moscow allowed grain ships to leave Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The agreement, which had already allowed the export of over 9 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, was set to be renewed on November 19.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday expressed “deep concern” as Ukraine’s maritime grain exports were halted.

    “The Secretary-General continues to engage in intense contacts aiming at the end of the Russian suspension of its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” Guterres’ spokesman said.

    “The same engagement also aims at the renewal and full implementation of the initiative to facilitate exports of food and fertilizer from Ukraine, as well as removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer.”

    Moscow suspended its participation in the deal on Saturday, effectively blocking shipments from Ukraine, one of the world’s top grain exporters, in response to what it called a major Ukrainian drone attack earlier in the day on its Black Sea Fleet headquarters near the port of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea.

    “Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea deal puts at risk the main export route of much-needed grain and fertilisers to address the global food crisis caused by its war against Ukraine,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter on Sunday.

    “The EU urges Russia to [reverse] its decision.”

     

     

  • Russia says Black Sea grain shipments ‘risky’ after its withdrawal from export deal

    Russia has warned that it would be “risky” for Ukraine to continue exporting grain via the Black Sea after Moscow suspended its participation in an initiative to facilitate shipments.

    “In conditions when Russia is talking about the impossibility of guaranteeing the safety of shipping in these areas, such a deal is hardly feasible, and it takes on a different character – much more risky, dangerous and unguaranteed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

    Peskov said Russian contacts with Turkey and the United Nations, who brokered the grain export deal in July, were continuing. He declined to comment when asked what needed to happen, from Russia’s point of view, for the deal to be resumed.

    Source: Aljazeera.com

     

     

  • Russia has cancelled a grain export agreement with Ukraine

     TASS has indicated that Russia has suspended its participation in a grain export deal following overnight attacks on ships in Crimea.

    The UN-mediated agreement, signed in July, allowed shipments of Ukrainian grain to be exported from blockaded ports.

    “Taking into account… the terrorist act by the Kyiv regime with the participation of British experts against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the “grain corridor”, the Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” the ministry said in a statement.

    It earlier said the drone attacks were mostly repelled, although a ship received minor damage.

    Social media videos purport to show fires and black smoke in the Bay of Sevastopol.

    A UN spokesperson has said they are in touch with Russian authorities and that all sides should refrain from doing anything to imperil the deal.

    In the last few minutes, Russia’s agriculture minister Dmitry Patrushev said only 3% of the food exported under the UN-brokered deal had gone to the poorest countries – and that Moscow intends to supply 500,000 tonnes of grain to these nations over the next few months.

    On Wednesday, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said he was “relatively optimistic” the deal would be extended beyond mid-November. 

     

     

  • US President: Russia’s decision to halt a grain deal is ‘outrageous

    The US president has called Russia’s decision to withdraw from an UN-brokered grain deal “utterly outrageous,” claiming that it will increase hunger.

    On Saturday evening, Joe Biden made the remarks while speaking to reporters.

    Following attacks on a number of ships in occupied Crimea, Moscow announced it would withdraw from the grain export deal.

    The agreement was signed in July and was allowing shipments of Ukrainian grain to be exported from blockaded ports.

    A UN spokesperson has said they are in touch with Russian authorities and that all sides should refrain from doing anything to imperil the deal.