The EU called on Moscow to implement the grain transport agreement

(Photo: Pixabay)

Josep Borrell stated in a statement issued on behalf of the European Union: Russia is solely responsible for the global food security crisis caused by the war against Ukraine and the Russian blockade of Ukrainian sea ports. “Russia has been using food and hunger as a weapon since the beginning of the war in Ukraine,” the High Representative said, adding that Moscow’s targeted measures, including the destruction of grain stocks, disruption of production, and the introduction of restrictions on its own food and fertilizer exports, have worsened food security. crisis worldwide. The EU and its member states will continue to respond to the crisis that threatens food security and will support the predictable delivery of Ukrainian agricultural products to global markets, added the head of EU diplomacy.

Shocking Russian announcement about grain shipments

Russia announced on Saturday that – because of the attack on its ships in the Sevastopol Bay that morning – it will not participate in the implementation of the “grain initiative”. The Russian Defense Ministry said that ships of the Black Sea Fleet, which contributed to guaranteeing the security of the grain corridor, became the targets of the attack in the Sevastopol Bay. The ministry already announced on Monday evening that until the situation surrounding the Ukrainian drone attack on Russian military and civilian ships in Sevastopol on Saturday is clarified, Russia will suspend ship traffic in the security corridor designated for the transport of grain as part of the “Black Sea Initiative”. As part of the grain transport agreement signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in Istanbul on July 22 of this year, more than 9 million tons of grain on 397 ships could safely leave the ports of Ukraine on the Black Sea, as a result of which food prices fell on the world market. The agreement would expire at the end of November. Moscow said on Sunday that at least one of the drones that attacked the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on Saturday may have been launched from the area of ​​the grain shipping corridor opened under the agreement, from a civilian ship used by Ukraine or the West. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed on Monday evening that Ukraine will continue to implement the grain agreement within the framework of agreements with the UN and Turkey.

MTI