Russia threatens to suspend Ukrainian grain export deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threatened on Friday in Ankara to suspend the agreement to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea if the sale of Russian agricultural products continues to be hindered.

The agreement, negotiated in July with the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations, is key to world food security.

“If there is no progress in lifting barriers to Russian fertilizer and grain exports, then we will wonder if such an agreement is necessary.”, Lavrov threatened after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Cavusoglu.

The pact, which allowed the export of more than 25 million tons of cereals to date, was extended on March 19.

But Moscow proposed that the text be extended for 60 days and not 120, as was initially tacitly agreed.

The Kremlin assures that the part of the agreement that allows it to export its own food and fertilizers is not respected.

In theory, these essential products for global agriculture cannot be targeted by the Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in practice, these exports continue to face a series of obstacles from banks.

According to the Turkish minister, “The United States and the United Kingdom took action regarding payments and insurance, but there are still problems. Some banks did not do enough.”

Besides, “Steps were taken to resend Russian ammonia and fertilizers from Western countries to African countries, but the problem is not resolved”, he continued.

Lavrov denounced on the other hand the inequality of Ukrainian exports between rich and poor countries.

According to the Joint Coordination Center, which is in charge of monitoring the agreement, 56% of exports went to developing countries and 5.7% to less advanced countries, which have more than 12% of the world’s population.

During his visit to Turkey, Lavrov will also meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is campaigning to be re-elected on May 14, a Turkish official told AFP.

“New world order”

Russia and Türkiye act hand in hand in various international affairs. Before Lavrov’s arrival in Ankara, Moscow in fact stressed the importance of “synchronize clocksbetween both countries.

Türkiye has maintained relations with both Russia and Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

Cavusoglu expressed on Friday his “worry [respecto a] an escalation of the conflict in the spring”.

Lavrov warned in this regard that negotiating peace in Ukraine will only be possible if a “new world order” free from US domination is established.

“Negotiations can only take place if Russian interests are taken into account,” insisted the Russian foreign minister. These will be “the principles on which a new world order will be founded.””, he added.

On the other hand, Russia hopes to push for a reconciliation between Ankara and its Syrian ally and called several meetings, although so far they have not led to any results.

Syrian President Bashar al Asad conditions a meeting with Erdogan on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria, under Kurdish influence.

But Erdogan’s spokesman and diplomatic adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, announced on Wednesday that a meeting would be arranged in Moscow between the foreign and defense ministers of both countries, as well as Russia and Iran.

The appointment will take placein the coming days” with the heads of the intelligence services of the four countries, said Kalin, who met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, according to the Kremlin.