Russia has announced that the grain agreement with Ukraine will not be extended. Now Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the country hopes to continue exporting grain across the Black Sea.
– Even without Russia, everything must be done so that we can use the corridor across the Black Sea. We are not afraid, the president said in a statement published by his spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov.
The announcement that Russia will not extend the agreement with Ukraine was made by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday. But according to President Zelenskyi, Ukraine is ready to continue exporting across the Black Sea – a trading area known as “Europe’s breadbasket”.
Russia has on several occasions previously threatened to withdraw from the agreement, as it believes that its own demands for improved exports of grain and fertilizers have not been met.
– They have made empty threats several times before when the agreement was extended. I think they thought it was time to make the threats a reality this time to be taken seriously, says Bosse Lindwall, TV4 Nyheternas foreign commentator.
“At risk of being stopped by the Russian navy”
Although Zelenskyj hopes to be able to continue exporting to sea, Bosse Lindwall believes that Ukraine may have to rethink the export of grain.
– Compensation has been promised to shipping companies that take the risk of shipping grain from Ukrainian ports, with those cargo ships at risk of being stopped by the Russian navy and perhaps by Russian mines. Ukraine must now invest more in exporting its agricultural products in other ways, via the Danube River to Romania and via land to the EU, he says.
UN Ambassador: A cruel act
Since Russia announced its decision, several critical voices have been raised, including from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who calls the decision “cynical”.
“I strongly condemn Russia’s cynical action to end the grain agreement, despite the efforts of the UN and Turkey,” she writes in a post on Twitter.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that the decision will hit people in need hard around the world.
– Hundreds of millions of people are facing hunger and consumers are facing a global cost of living crisis. They will have to pay the price, he says, reports the AFP news agency.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, calls the non-renewal of the agreement a “cruel act” and accuses Moscow of holding “humanity hostage”.
– While Russia plays political games, people will suffer, she says.