Boris Johnson says military convoys won't carry Ukraine's grain

West exploring alternative options for Black Sea shipments of war-torn country's crops

A man loads grain into a seeder before sowing a field. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

An employee works at a warehouse during corn harvesting. High corn prices on the global market are keeping up the interest of Russia’s agricultural producers in the export of their products. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

An employee works at a warehouse during corn harvesting. Russia harvested 11.5 million tonnes of corn last year. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

A man walks in a field as a combine machine harvests corn in southern Russia. Russia is enjoying the second largest grain crop in its post-Soviet history this year. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

Russia’s grain export may reach 24.5 million tonnes in the 2013-2014 seasons. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

South Korea, the European Union and Turkey are the biggest buyers of the grain - including corn - from Russia. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

Tractors are used to sow winter wheat in a field in southern Russia. Domestic appetite for grain has been supported by a Russian ban on most Western food imports in retaliation for the sanctions. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

A man in a tractor prepares a field before sowing winter wheat. Farmers recently sowed their winter wheat crop in the driest soil in five years. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

A driver gets out of a cabin to unload the truck at a warehouse. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected suggestions that military convoys could be mounted to protect Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea as efforts to ease the global food crisis founder without Russia support.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson was asked to defy the rules of the Montreux Convention, which has limited navies entering through the Bosporus and deploying “larger forces in the Black Sea”.

“No, we are not looking at that,” he said. “There are alternative solutions that don’t involve the presence of UK or other warships in the Black Sea.”

Tobias Ellwood MP, the chairman of the defence select committee, called on the UN to create “a humanitarian safe haven around that critical port of Odesa so those vital grain exports cannot only reach Europe but also Africa and prevent a famine”.

Mr Johnson said discussions about an emergency convoy were continuing but that “we may have to prepare for a solution that does not depend upon Russian consent” because Moscow may not comply.

When challenged over diplomatic efforts to address the high price of oil since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia began on February 24, Mr Johnson said the major producers including Saudi Arabia and Opec+ were being urged to do as much as they could.

Ships anchored in the Black Sea wait to enter the Sulina canal, one of the spilling points of the river Danube into the Black Sea. AFP

“There maybe some question about quite how much more the Saudis could pump out at this particular moment,” he said.

“But there's no doubt that we are going to need a lot more Opec+ oil. The UK has strong and productive relations with Saudi Arabia, and we need to make sure that the whole of the West does as well.”

Former Labour cabinet minister Hilary Benn urged UK officials to secure a UN General Assembly resolution to create a humanitarian safe haven around the port of Odesa to ensure “vital grain exports cannot only reach Europe but also Africa and prevent famine there”.

Mr Johnson said London was a supporter of the UN efforts to mediate an agreement on opening up the Black Sea.

“The work is being led by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The UK is doing a huge amount to support (it),” Mr Johnson said.

“But as I’ve told the house before, we may have to prepare for a solution that does not depend upon Russian consent because that may not be forthcoming.

“What we are also looking at is the possibility of using the rivers, using the Danube in particular, using the railways to try to get the grain out in smaller quantities than we would be able to do with a giant maritime convoy through the Black Sea.

“So we are looking at all the possible options.”

He said smaller scale shipments of grain would open up the Danube as a conduit for Ukraine grain to markets where the country's products were in high demand.

“He [Mr Benn] is right about the urgency, we will increasingly have to look at alternative means of moving that grain from Ukraine if we cannot use that sea route,” Mr Johnson said.

In response to another MP, Mr Johnson said the alternative routes would come into being “in the event that we are forced to do an operation that does not involve the consent of the Russians, as I think is all too likely”.

Mr Johnson also appeared to imply that the cut to the British Army of 4,000 troops taking it to 72,00 was “under constant review” suggesting the possibility it could be reversed.

He was asked by Johnny Mercer MP to confirm if “no directive had been issued” by the Treasury “on defence numbers or numbers of personnel” should the security situation in Europe continue to change.

“He speaks wisely on this matter, which he knows very well and we keep the actual numbers under constant review,” the prime minister said.

“The most important thing for our troops is that they've got also got to have the best equipment in the world and that's what we're paying for.”