The Kremlin yesterday said it was exiting a major agreement allowing grain exports from Ukraine hours after drones struck Russia’s only bridge connecting its mainland to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Moscow said the deadly Kerch Bridge attack had nothing to do with its withdrawal and for months has complained about the implementation of the pact, which was designed to ease fears of food shortages in vulnerable countries.
“The grain deal has ceased. As soon as the Russian part [of the agreements] are fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the grain deal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the move was not linked to the strike.
Photo: Crimea24TV / AFP
The announcement came hours after drones struck the sole road link connecting Russia to the annexed peninsula, a key supply line for Russian forces resupplying frontlines in the south of Ukraine.
Kyiv’s navy and SBU security service carried out a “special operation” using seaborne drones, an SBU source said.
Russian authorities said a civilian couple was killed and their daughter wounded in the attack on the bridge, which was also damaged last year in a blast that Moscow blamed on Kyiv.
Over the past year, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has enabled the export in cargo of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, but those transports have come to a halt because of Russia’s refusal so far to renew the deal.
“The applications have not been approved by all parties,” the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), which oversees the agreement, said in a statement. “No new ships have been approved to participate since 27 June.”
Putin just last week signaled Russia’s intention to terminate the agreement saying Moscow’s interests were being ignored under the deal brokered by the UN and Turkey.
Despite the Kremlin’s statements, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared optimistic about the prospects of the grain deal being maintained.
“I think that despite today’s statement, my friend Putin wants to continue the agreement” that allows the export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea.
However, Putin has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the agreement, saying that elements of the deal allowing the export of Russian food and fertilizers have not been honored.
China and Turkey are the main beneficiaries of the grain shipments, as well as developed economies, JCC data showed
The deal has helped the World Food Programme bring relief to countries facing critical food shortages such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS