Russia Rejoins Black Sea Grain Export Deal

Russia agreed Wednesday to resume its participation in a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN to keep grain and other commodities moving out of Ukraine’s ports during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey’s president said.

Photo Insert: Russia suspended its participation in the grain deal over the weekend, citing allegations of a Ukrainian drone attack against its Black Sea fleet.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar that the deal for a humanitarian grain corridor would “continue in the same way as before” as of noon Wednesday.

Erdogan said the renewed deal would prioritize shipments to African nations, including Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan, in line with Russia’s concerns that most of the grain exported since the agreement first was reached in July was ending up in richer nations.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Russia agreed to continue carrying out its role in the deal after receiving written guarantees from Kyiv that Ukraine would not use the sea corridor for military actions against Moscow, according to a statement by the Russian defense ministry

Russia suspended its participation in the grain deal over the weekend, citing allegations of a Ukrainian drone attack against its Black Sea fleet. The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that ship traffic from ports in southern Ukraine was halted, calling the movement “unacceptable.”

The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Ukraine had formally committed to using the safe shipping corridors through the Black Sea “exclusively in accordance with the stipulations of the Black Sea initiative,” a reference to the separate UN and Turkey-backed agreements signed by Moscow and Kyiv on July 22.

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