2023-07-17 15:56:15
Moscow refused on Monday to renew the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals, crucial for world food, hours following a Ukrainian attack which partially destroyed for the second time the strategic bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula which it annexed in 2014.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reacted to the Russian decision, stressing that “hundreds of millions of people are facing hunger” and that they will “pay the price”. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Moscow of “taking humanity hostage”, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, joined by London, Paris and Berlin in particular, condemned a decision “cynical”.
Moscow, which “is solely responsible for blocking navigation in this maritime space and imposing an illegal blockade on Ukrainian ports” must “stop its blackmail on global food security”, the French Foreign Ministry said.
As for Ukraine, it has shown its willingness to continue exporting its cereals via the Black Sea, with or without Moscow’s agreement on ship safety. “We are not afraid,” declared President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had received the strong support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month, to the chagrin of Moscow.
But for now, the Kremlin has dismissed the calls that had multiplied in recent days for the renewal of the agreement, demanding that demands concerning its own grain and fertilizer exports be met. .
The agreement “de facto ended today”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “as soon as the part concerning Russia is satisfied, Russia will immediately return to the agreement on the cereals “.
“If Western capitals really appreciate the Black Sea Initiative, then they seriously consider fulfilling their obligations and effectively withdraw Russian fertilizers and foodstuffs from sanctions. Only when concrete results are achieved, and not promises and assurances, will Russia be ready to consider restoring the agreement,” the Russian Foreign Ministry explained.
The announcement comes hours before the deal expires at midnight (5 p.m. EDT) in Istanbul.
Signed in July 2022 on the banks of the Bosphorus and already renewed twice, the agreement has made it possible, over the past year, to release nearly 33 million tonnes of cereals from Ukrainian ports, despite the conflict.
Turkey, Ukraine and the UN have been notified of the Kremlin’s decision, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, said he was convinced that his “friend Mr. Putin wants to pursue the agreement” allowing the export of grain from Ukraine to the Black Sea.
London felt that “discussions” will continue, and Paris urged Moscow to “reverse its decision”.
naval drones
The Kremlin’s announcement comes hours following a Ukrainian naval drone attack partially destroyed the Crimean Bridge for the second time, linking Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula annexed in 2014, and killed two civilians.
The attack caused significant damage to the road section of the structure, which is used in particular to transport military equipment to the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.
The Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said in a statement that it took place at 3:05 a.m. (8:05 p.m. EDT) and confirmed that it was carried out by “naval surface drones”.
Two civilians, a man and a woman who were driving, were killed there and their daughter injured, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Monday.
On Telegram, the Crimea-24 public television channel posted a video of the bridge showing a partially collapsed portion of its road section.
The 18-kilometre-long concrete bridge, built at great expense by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin and which he inaugurated in 2018, consists of two parallel structures, one reserved for road traffic and the other for traffic railway.
The railway section of the bridge was not damaged and traffic resumed there in the morning, Crimean authorities said.
Ferries to cross the strait have resumed their rotations. But the Russian governor of the annexed peninsula, Sergey Aksionov, has invited Russian tourists who need to leave by car to do so via Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine, parts of which are under military fire. Ukrainian which is pounding the Russian supply lines.
The concrete viaduct that spans the Kerch Strait had already been damaged on October 8 by a powerful explosion attributed by the Russian authorities to a truck booby-trapped by the Ukrainian secret services. It had taken months of work before it was fully put back into service.
On the front, where the Ukrainian army has described “intense” fighting in recent days between its forces engaged in a counter-offensive and Russian soldiers, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, a former political prisoner in Russia, was engaged on Monday. in the army to defend his country and recently decorated by France with the Legion of Honor, who revealed that he was injured in the region of Zaporijjia.
Finally, a Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft crashed into the nearby Sea of Azov. The pilot is dead.
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