Black Sea Grain Deal Hangs on 11th-Hour Talks, Again
The United Nations on Sunday awaited a response from Russia on renewing a deal that allows Ukraine to export its grain amid a wartime blockade, a necessity in helping keep global food prices stable.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, is a rare example of fruitful negotiations between Ukraine and Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion. The deal was initially reached a year ago, allowing Ukraine to restart the export of millions of tons of grain that had languished for months.
But Russia has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the deal, which has been renewed only for short periods. The last day of the latest extension is Monday.
In a bid to answer one of Russia’s key demands before this latest deadline, the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week with proposals that would “remove hurdles affecting financial transactions” through Russia’s agricultural bank “and simultaneously allow for the continued flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea,” according to a U.N. statement.
Source: The New York Times
