By Rhod Mackenzie
The Russian Federation is working with its partners on alternatives to the Black Sea initiative to deliver grain to countries in need, including African countries.
This was announced by Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov.
“The Black Sea Initiative is by no means a panacea for meeting the food needs of African and other countries, there are alternatives, and they are being actively explored in contacts with our partners,” the diplomat said, stressing that it is Russia that makes a colossal contribution to ensuring global food security.
He recalled that after the fulfillment of Moscow's requirements, "it will be possible to talk about the resumption of the Black Sea initiative."
The so-called grain deal was concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 with the participation of the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. The parties then signed two documents - the first involves the creation of a corridor for the export of products from three Ukrainian ports (Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny), the second refers to the removal of obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizers. In March 2023, the first part of the deal was extended by 60 days; the second part was not completed. In mid-May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the agreements had been extended for another two months.
The Russian leadership repeatedly warned the participants in the initiative that if the interests of the Russian Federation were ignored, the deal could be stopped, which happened on July 17. The Kremlin says that a return to the grain deal is possible subject to the fulfillment of obligations to Russia, including the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT.