2023-04-24 12:55:00
Russia threatens to end key grain deal if G7 bans exports to Russia
Commercial ships, including ships that are part of the Black Sea Grain Agreement, wait to pass the Bosphorus Strait off the coast of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS/ Umit Bektas/File Photo)
Russia is threatening to end the Black Sea grain deal, considered critical to solving the world hunger crisis, if the Group of Seven nations ban exports to the country.
This ban might be part of the ever-evolving series of sanctions that the allies have imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and vice president of the Russian Security Council, hinted in a Telegram post Sunday that Russia would respond to a new export ban by stopping the flow of “goods that are the most sensitive for the G7.”
“In this case, the grain deal will end for them, as well as many other things they need,” Medvedev wrote.
What the alliance says: The G7 called for the “extension, full implementation and enlargement” of the Black Sea grain deal in a statement released by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Sunday.
“We condemn Russia’s attempts to use food as a means of destabilization and a tool of geopolitical coercion and reiterate our commitment to act in solidarity and support those most affected by Russia’s militarization of food,” the ministers said. G7 in the statement, in which they added that “they will continue to design restrictive measures once morest Russia to protect the population in need from unforeseen consequences, guaranteeing the withdrawal of food and fertilizers.”
Some background: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to a halt in grain shipments to the Black Sea and a crisis in the world food market.
Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the UN and Turkey, established the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2022 to ensure safe passage for ships carrying grain and oilseeds, some of Ukraine’s most important exports.
Shipments have been intermittent during the deal, with each party at times accusing the other of sabotaging the operation.
On April 17, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy officer, declared that Russia had “once once more” blocked the passage through the Black Sea of 50 ships carrying “urgently needed” Ukrainian grain.
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