Russia rejoins deal to ship vital Ukraine grain exports

MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday rejoined a deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, but President Vladimir Putin warned Moscow could again pull out of the agreement.

The revival of an arrangement aimed at easing fears of global food insecurity came as Washington said it was “increasingly concerned” Russia could use nuclear weapons in its campaign in Ukraine.

Moscow had said on Saturday that it was temporarily pulling out of the grain deal, accusing Ukraine of misusing the safe shipping corridor to launch a drone assault on its Black Sea fleet.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had now received “sufficient” guarantees from Kyiv that it would not use the maritime corridor to carry out attacks.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “warmly” welcomed Russia’s decision to resume participation in the agreement, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July and allows for joint inspections of ships.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter that he had thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his “active participation in preserving the grain deal”.

However, Putin said Russia could leave the deal again if Ukraine “violates” its guarantees, though Moscow would “not interfere” with any grain deliveries even if it did.

Moscow had warned the route was “dangerous” for shipments without its participation in the agreement but some deliveries from Ukraine still went ahead on Monday and Tuesday.

‘Real guarantees’

A Turkish security source said the corridor was open again from 0900 GMT although no departures from Ukraine were planned Wednesday.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Moscow has yet to decide if it would remain part of the deal after November 18.

The agreement was due to be renewed on November 19, but the extension is “a separate issue” and that decision will be made “taking into account all the accompanying factors,” state news agency RIA Novosti reported him as saying.

The deal, overseen by the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, has allowed more than 9.7 million metric tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs to leave Ukrainian ports.

This has brought much-needed relief to a global food crisis triggered by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both major global grain exporters.

World grain prices, which had soared earlier this week, had begun to ease on Wednesday after Russia announced it was returning to the deal, despite doubts over its future.

Putin had demanded “real guarantees”, while Zelensky on Tuesday had urged “reliable and long-term protection” of the corridor.  The Russian defence ministry said it obtained written guarantees from Kyiv.

It said Ukraine guaranteed “the non-use of the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports determined in the interests of the export of agricultural products for conducting military operations against the Russian Federation”.