Russia is considering withdrawing from the grain deal, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with military reporters on Tuesday.
He drew attention to the fact that most of the Ukrainian grain, contrary to the agreements, goes to quite prosperous countries of the European Union. “We understand this. We deliberately agreed to it (grain deal – TASS) in order to support developing countries – our friends, and in order to lift sanctions on our agricultural sector. We were deceived once again,” he said.
Moreover, he continued, almost no Ukrainian grain reaches African countries. “Therefore, we are now thinking about withdrawing from this so-called grain deal. Moreover, the vessel corridors are constantly used by the enemy to launch naval drones,” Putin said.
Russia endorsed the deal “to support developing countries — our friends, and in order to achieve the lifting of sanctions from our agricultural sector”, Putin said. “We have been deceived once again. We are now thinking about how we can get out of this so-called grain deal.”
At the same time, Russia is ready to supply the volume of grain that now comes from Ukraine free of charge to the poorest countries, in the event of its withdrawal from the grain deal, he added.
“As for the grain deal, we are considering ending our participation in it. But the volume of grain that the poorest countries received, which is a little over 3%, we will be ready to deliver to them free of charge,” Putin said.
Russia has threatened repeatedly to leave the agreement, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last year and extended for two months in mid-May. Even with Russia’s involvement, traffic to Ukraine’s ports has been disrupted, with Ukraine accusing Russia of slow-walking checks and blocking ships destined for one of the three ports in the deal.
Russia and Ukraine are both major agricultural exporters, and mixed messages over the fate of the deal have contributed to volatility in grain prices. In May, total agricultural shipments through the safe corridor hit the lowest since it was agreed, according to UkrAgroConsult.