Russia Suspends Participation in Grain Deal, MoD Says

Over the past days, Ukrainian forces have carried out several terror attacks against Crimea and against Russian ships in the Black Sea.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Saturday that Moscow is suspending participation in the grain deal, which foresaw the transportation of food and fertilizers from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea.

"In view of the terrorist attack, carried out by the Kiev regime on October 29 - with the participation of British specialists - against ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor, the Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports," an official statement read.

The Russian foreign ministry also noted that the deal has been "suspended indefinitely", since Moscow can't guarantee the safety of the civilian vessels amid Ukrainian attacks.

"Given the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces (which are designated as a terrorist attack), led by the UK specialists, and staged against Russian vessels ensuring the operation of the humanitarian corridor, the Russian side can no longer guarantee the safety of civilian carriers involved in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and suspends its implementation from today for an indefinite period," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the relevant instructions have been issued for the Russian representatives at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which controls the transportation of Ukrainian grains.

Meanwhile, a source in the UN noted that Russia plans to request a Security Council meeting regarding the issue.

Earlier in the day, the MoD said that the preparation of the morning drone attack on Sevastopol was carried out under the guidance of UK specialists in the city of Ochakov. According to the ministry, the attack involved 16 air and sea drones and slightly damaged the Russian naval minesweeper of the Black Sea Fleet.

Grain For Europe?

Russian authorities had previously criticized the deal - while the accord was supposed to prevent food scarcity among the most vulnerable countries, a large amount of it ended up in Europe instead of Asia and Africa.

Commenting on the recent food deliveries, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev noted that from 60% to 100% of the food was apprehended by the EU nations, while the situation in the developing countries had deteriorated. At the same time, he noted that Russia is ready to deliver up to 500,000 tons of grain to the developing countries.

The first commercial vessel that left Ukraine under the Black Sea grain deal was inspected in Istanbul on Wednesday and cleared to proceed to Lebanon, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) said

© Sputnik / Maksim Durnev

The agreement was struck on July 22 by Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey in order to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhnoe.

At the same time, Moscow noted that the part of the deal concerning Russian food exports was not working altogether, which may lead to the termination of the agreements.