The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the termination of the «grain deal», RIA Novosti reports.
Yesterday, the last vessel left the port of Odessa under the agreement, which expired today. The Russian authorities said that they would not extend it without fulfilling the promises given by the Russian Federation, among which was the admission of Russian fertilizers to the world market.
“Unfortunately, the part concerning Russia of these Black Sea agreements has not been implemented so far. Therefore, its action is terminated,” Peskov said.
Early on the morning of July 17, an explosion also occurred on the Crimean bridge, in which Russia blamed the Ukrainian special services. According to Peskov, the decision not to renew the «grain deal» was not connected with this.
The agreement between Russia and Ukraine, under which Russia, in exchange for several sanctions relief, does not prevent the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, was signed in the summer 2022 with the mediation of Turkey and the UN. The first ship with food left Odessa on August 1. Russia suspended participation in the «grain deal» after the drone attack in Sevastopol in October 2022, then it was repeatedly extended.
In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Moscow and Ankara «are unanimous in grain deal”, and a few days before that he said that he was in favor of extending this agreement. At the same time, Peskov, in response to this, noted that Russia did not make statements about its consent to the extension of the deal.