Russia canceled the agreement to export grain to Ukraine

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): This agreement, which was expected to be renewed after its expiration due to playing a vital role in preventing the global food crisis, was previously concluded between Moscow and Kiev with the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations.
 
The Kremlin announced on Monday, July 17, that the agreement would expire "de facto" at midnight on Monday local time in Moscow.
 
While referring to the expiration of the grain agreement with Ukraine, Moscow has assured that it is ready to return to this agreement "immediately" if its demands are met and the conditions are met.
 
Accordingly, Moscow's security guarantees for Ukraine's grain shipments will end as of Tuesday, July 18, and the Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor will also be closed.
 
Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for the Russian Presidential Palace, told reporters during a press conference on Monday: "The Black Sea Agreement has practically ended today."
 
He added: As soon as the part (of the agreement) related to Russia is fulfilled, Moscow will immediately return to the grain agreement.
 
Declaring the expiration of the grain agreement, the Kremlin has announced that it will freeze Ukraine's grain exports until Moscow's demands for Russian agricultural shipments to the world are met.
 
According to Euro News, the agreement to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea was signed in Istanbul in July 2022 with the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations.
 
The grain agreement, which has already been extended twice, made it possible for nearly 33 million tons of grain to leave Ukraine's ports despite the conflicts.
 
The purpose of signing this agreement was to prevent the food crisis in the world and to facilitate the export of grains to needy countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, which were facing the threat of shortages and rising food prices due to the suspension of the export of grains and agricultural products of Ukraine.
 
Meanwhile, the Kremlin believes that several goals have not been fully realized and that poor countries have had an insufficient share of grain exported from Ukrainian ports.
 
In addition, the Kremlin insists that Moscow's demands regarding a separate agreement reached at the same time as the grain agreement on the transfer of Russian food and fertilizer and facilitating the export of these items amid Western sanctions have not been met.
 
Both warring countries are the world's major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing countries rely on.
 
A few weeks ago, Moscow had threatened not to renew the Ukrainian grain export agreement, referring to what it said were the obstacles on the way to the delivery of agricultural products and chemical fertilizers produced in Russia.
 
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Monday regarding the termination of the grain agreement: "Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations have been informed of the Kremlin's decision."
 
In a conversation with the state news agency Tass, he stated: "Russia has officially announced its opposition to the extension of this agreement to the Turkish and Ukrainian parties as well as the United Nations Secretariat."
 
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the Kremlin, announced the end of the grain agreement on Monday morning, while a few hours before that, the strategic communication bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula was targeted by the drones of the Ukrainian Navy.
 
However, the Kremlin spokesman assured that the decision not to renew the grain agreement was made in advance by Moscow and had nothing to do with the aforementioned attacks.
 
In the first reaction to Moscow's decision not to renew the grain export agreement with Ukraine, the United States warned that such a decision would create a shortage and increase the price of food in the world.