Just four days after halting its participation in the pact, Russia said on Wednesday that it would resume. The accord permits Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea. Due to a drone strike on its fleet there, Moscow withdrew over the weekend, claiming it could not ensure the safety of civilian ships traveling through the Black Sea.
The statement from the defense ministry said that the Russian Federation thinks that the guarantees acquired at this time look sufficient and restarts the execution of the agreement. The U-turn came after discussions between their respective defense ministries and a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.
Will They Be Back to the Full Inquiry?
Andrey Sizov, the leader of the Sovecon agriculture consultancy focused on Russia, stated that this is an unexpected turnaround. They did not abandon this agreement, but we also did not anticipate Russia’s return to it so swiftly since it was unclear what type of guarantees Russia could obtain and how soon this would occur. Erdogan did a wonderful job, though, he added.
Even after their conversation, the Turkish president received information that Moscow would only consider continuing the deal following a “full inquiry” into the Saturday drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet. In addition to denying exploiting the security corridor for the grain program for military reasons, Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the strike. Allegedly Russia attempted to deflect attention away from its military missteps in Ukraine, but Britain has denied any connection.
According to a statement released on Wednesday, the United Nations and Turkey’s cooperation made it feasible for Russia to get formal pledges from Ukraine that it would not use the humanitarian corridor or Ukrainian ports to carry out military operations against it. The humanitarian corridor established by the Turkish and U.N.-brokered agreement, which opened up Ukrainian ports and shipping channels that Russia had previously blockaded, was deemed hazardous and unacceptable by Moscow on Monday.
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