On Monday, the Russian-Ukrainian grain agreement signed with the mediation of Türkiye and the United Nations collapsed, at a time when Moscow and the West are exchanging accusations of causing this.
In July 2022, Türkiye, the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports to help address the global food crisis, which was temporarily halted after the start of the Russian war on February 24, 2022.
The agreement was extended 3 times, as it facilitated the transfer of tons of grain and foodstuffs as part of attempts to address the global food crisis, which escalated to record levels after Moscow launched its military operations.
The grain deal allowed three Ukrainian ports to export 33 million metric tons of grain and other foodstuffs to the world, since the first ship moved on August 1, 2022.
Economically, Moscow accuses Western countries of not complying with the terms of the agreement and lifting some of the restrictions imposed on the Russian commercial, financial and banking sectors, which imposed in the wake of the outbreak of the war with Ukraine.
On more than one occasion, Moscow called for lifting the obstacles imposed by the West on the export of grain and fertilizers, in addition to its demand to re-link the “Russian Agricultural Bank” to the global “SWIFT” system for financial transfers.
Russia also calls for the resumption of the supply of agricultural machinery and spare parts, the lifting of restrictions imposed on insurance and reinsurance, and the resumption of work on the ammonia pipeline that connects the Russian city of Tolyatti with the Ukrainian Odessa.
It also calls for the unfreezing of assets and accounts of Russian companies operating in the field of exporting foodstuffs and fertilizers, which are items rejected by the West.
