Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that the international community cannot ignore Russia’s decision to quit the Black Sea grain deal.
Speaking to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, Mr Kuleba called on member states to urge Russia to return to the UN and Turkey-brokered deal and guarantee the sustainable transport of “Ukrainian cereals” to international markets.
He stressed that the current situation is untenable, noting the export of Ukrainian grain through Europe would not be able to “compensate for the absence of deliveries from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea”.
“We have to take risks and we have to demonstrate that we can carry on without Russia,” he said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Secretary General Antonio Guterres “will continue to explore all possible avenues to ensure that Ukrainian grain, Russian grain, Russian fertiliser are out on the global market”.
“There are a number of ideas being floated,” he said.
Merely accepting the demise of the Black Sea grain deal due to Russia's actions is not an option, Mr Kuleba pointed out. He insisted that proactive measures must be taken to explore alternatives or create a new model.
One major problem, he said, is what will happen if “Russia decides to attack a vessel carrying grain”.
Russia attacked Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, warning that attempts to ship grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports without security guarantees from Moscow would carry risks because it said Kyiv used those waters for military activities.
Moscow halted its participation in the grain initiative on Monday over what it called a failure to meet its demands to enact a side agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser exports.
The grain deal provided safe shipping corridors in the Black Sea and allowed about 33 million tonnes of food to be exported from Ukraine, with more than half going to developing countries.
Russia has said it was prepared to supply poor countries in Africa with grain for free. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the issue would be discussed at a Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg next week.
