Russia is preparing for a complete shutdown of the “grain corridor” on July 18, – Russian Foreign Ministry

UkrAgroConsult

Russia does not plan to continue its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, demanding a partial lifting of sanctions and the resumption of the Togliati-Odesa ammonia pipeline, which has been blown up in at least two places. This is stated in a statement published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“There are no grounds for further extension of the Black Sea Initiative, which ends on July 17. At the same time, the Russian side… is making the necessary efforts in strict accordance with the rules of procedure to ensure that all participating vessels are able to successfully complete their mission and leave the Black Sea before the end of its validity,” the statement said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry complains about problems with the export of food and fertilizers from Russia, which were supposed to be resolved by the Memorandum signed between Russia and the UN as part of the “grain initiative”. Despite these statements, grain exports from Russia in the last marketing season were record-breaking.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has named five of its demands as conditions for the continuation of the grain deal: connecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, lifting sanctions on the supply of spare parts for agricultural machinery, restoring the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, lifting sanctions against the transportation and insurance of Russian agricultural cargo, and “unfreezing assets.”

“The first three have obviously been removed from the agenda, and no progress has been made on the remaining two,” the Russian ministry said.

As reported, Russia is already blocking the work of the grain corridor. Since May, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), with the participation of Russian representatives, has stopped letting ships pass through the Pivdennyi port, and since June 26, it has not issued a permit for any new bulk carrier to join the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Kremlin was considering withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

At the same time, the grain corridor is currently operating at less than 20% of its normal capacity due to Russia’s position in the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), which blocks the registration of ships.

“The Black Sea Grain Initiative was agreed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, with the participation of the UN, Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia. Its essence is to create a corridor for the export of grain from the three Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The initiative was signed for 120 days and was extended twice, the last time on March 18. However, while Ukraine claimed that it was extended for 120 days, Russia claimed that it was only for 60 days, until May 18, and insisted on unblocking the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline and lifting all sanctions on trade in Russian agricultural products and fertilizers.

Tags: Black Sea grain corridor, Russia