Moscow has officially ended its participation in the one-year-old Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea despite ongoing hostilities.
“The Black Sea grain deal is no longer in effect,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 17, when the terms of the deal officially expired.
“Unfortunately, the part of the agreement that concerns Russia has not yet been fulfilled,” he added. “As a result, it has been terminated.”
The deal was initially brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last summer. Since then, it has allowed Ukraine to export more than 30 million tons of grain—from five Black Sea ports—to international buyers….