Turkey, the United Nations, and Ukraine push through with a Black Sea grain deal despite Russia's pullout from the agreement.
The head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, urged Moscow to continue its pledge to participate in the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal. The USAID administrator wrote that the world cannot afford for Rssian President Vladimir Putin to continue to use food as a weapon of war.
Black Sea Grain Deal
Power noted that Russia's comments about the suspension of its participation in the agreement are regrettable. The life-saving deal between multiple countries, which was brokered in July, has allowed for the export of more than 9 million metric tons of grain and other food products.
The supplies were sent to populations around the world amid the devastating global food crisis that is a result of multiple factors. Power touted the "tremendous success" of the agreement so far, arguing that it helped lower global food prices and provided relief to those who are most vulnerable to severe hunger, as per CNN.
The USAID administrator added that the US and its allies and partners remained clear in their objective to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Power noted that any attempt to undermine the agreement is considered an attack on hungry families worldwide whose lives and livelihoods depend on the initiative.
The situation comes after Moscow announced that it would suspend its participation in the Black Sea grain deal after it blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on Crimea on Saturday. On the other hand, Kyiv has accused Moscow of inventing "fictitious terrorist attacks" and using the deal as blackmail.
According to Reuters, Turkey, the United Nations, and Ukraine will continue a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday. The two main brokers of the deal, Turkey and the UN, on Sunday, scrambled to save the deal.
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Turkey, UN, and Ukraine Push Through
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he was deeply concerned about Russia's decision to suspend participation. He delayed a foreign trip in an attempt to revive the agreement that was intended to ease a global food crisis, his spokesperson said.
After Moscow's announcement, wheat prices on international commodities markets were expected to rise on Monday. This is because Russia and Ukraine are both among the world's largest wheat exporters, said analysts.
No ships were allowed to move through the established maritime humanitarian corridor on Sunday. However, the United Nations released a statement saying that it had agreed with Turkey and Ukraine for the new ships on Monday, 12 outbound and four inbound.
Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union's top diplomat, urged Russia to reverse its decision to suspend participation with the Black Sea grain deal. In a Sunday tweet, the official said that Moscow's decision puts at risk the main export route of much-needed grain and fertilizers to address the global food crisis, partly created by the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The United Nations office overseeing the implementation of the deal said that authorities had convened all the delegations on Sunday. Russia also confirmed that despite its participation in the deal being suspended, it would continue a dialogue with the UN and Turkey on "pressing issues," the New York Times reported.
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