The more vessels leave Ukrainian ports outside the grain deal, the less Russia’s influence on the situation will be, – US

The more vessels that leave Ukrainian ports outside the grain deal, the less Russia’s influence on the situation will be. This may force Russia to return to the deal, as the Kremlin’s calculations were wrong.

James O’Brien, head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, said this, according to Reuters.

“Their calculations will be influenced by several factors. One of them is that their leverage will decrease. Ukraine has already made it so that several ships have passed through its territorial waters,” O’Brien said, speaking about Moscow’s attitude to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

According to him, the second factor is that attacks on Ukrainian vessels will have a negative impact on pricing in Russia, which will lead to higher tariffs by insurers and increased costs for Moscow.

“I think that over the next few weeks, the factors that led Russia to believe that it would benefit from withdrawing from the agreement will change,” O’Brien summarized.

As a reminder, today the Resilient Africa has reached the Bosphorus. This is the first ship to leave Ukraine after Russia stopped participating in the grain deal.

Tags: Black Sea grain corridor, USA