Russia rejoins deal to ship vital Ukraine grain exports
MOSCOW (MNP) – Russia on Wednesday (Nov 2) rejoined a deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, but President Vladimir Putin warned Moscow could again pull out of the agreement.
The revival of an arrangement aimed at easing fears of global food insecurity came as Washington said it was “increasingly concerned” Russia could use nuclear weapons in its campaign in Ukraine.
Moscow had said on Saturday that it was temporarily pulling out of the grain deal, accusing Ukraine of using a safe shipping corridor established under the agreement to launch a drone assault on its Black Sea fleet.
Russia s defence ministry said it had now received sufficient guarantees from Kyiv that it would not use the maritime corridor to carry out attacks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Russia s decision to resume participation in the agreement, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July and allows for joint inspections of ships.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter that he had thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his role in preserving the grain deal. The Ukrainian leader later hailed its resumption as “a significant diplomatic result for our country and the whole world”.
But Putin said Russia could leave the deal again if Ukraine violates its guarantees, though Moscow would not interfere with any grain deliveries even if it did.
Moscow had warned the route was dangerous for shipments without its participation in the agreement but some deliveries from Ukraine still went ahead on Monday and Tuesday.
