Moscow warned that the outlook for extending a deal beyond May 18 that allows the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizer from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports was not great as Russia’s own such exports still faced obstacles.
The UN and Turkey-sponsored deal aimed at easing global food shortages by facilitating Ukraine’s agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports was extended for 120 days last Friday, though Moscow complained that its own demands had not been fully addressed.
UK Foreign Secretary, High Representative of the European Union, and US Secretary of State gave a statement on global food security and Russia sanctions. The statement follows on Russia's complaints that it saw no progress on easing its exports of fertilizers and grain – parts of the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow views as fundamental to extending the initiative beyond next week.
With nearly 100 grain-laden ships reaching towards the horizon off Istanbul, the U.N. official overseeing exports from Ukraine is asking Russia and other parties to end “full-blown” inspections of outgoing vessels to ease the backlog.
London’s insurance industry is gearing up to cover Ukrainian grain and fertilizer shipments via a safe corridor, which could require up to US$50 million per insured cargo, industry sources said this week.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the hit on the Black Sea port of Odessa was completely unwarranted, adding that not a word Russian President Vladimir Putin says can be trusted.
The price of wheat in global markets went back to pre-war figures Friday, after Ukraine and Russia agreed on a truce to allow for the departure of exports from Black Sea ports under Kyiv's control.
Russian authorities and dignitaries from the Kyiv government are to sign Friday the first deal since the beginning of the war in February. Brokered by Türkiye, the belligerent states will agree in Istanbul on safe corridors through the Black Sea for the export of Ukrainian wheat from its own ports.
A first cargo ship loaded with grain has left the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, a local official announced on Thursday, after Russia said the port had been de-mined and was ready to resume grain shipments.
Sea mines and stranded crews in Black Sea ports is another consequence of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Both Turkey and Romania navies have reported neutralizing sea mines, or rather anchor mines, since they do not float on the surface but rather just beneath it with an anchor supporting the floating device.