Russia claims it returns to Black Sea Grain Initiative because it received "guarantees" from Ukraine
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has announced that Russia is resuming the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was suspended after the explosions in Sevastopol.
Source: Kremlin-aligned news outlet RIA Novosti; European Pravda, citing Bloomberg News
Details: The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that Russia has received "written guarantees" from Ukraine that the grain corridor will not be used for military operations against the Russian Federation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in Ankara that shipments via Ukraine’s grain corridor will resume on the afternoon of 2 November, "as before".
According to Erdoğan, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu called his Turkish counterpart to inform him of the start of operations.
Updated: Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the situation. He said that the relevant "guarantees" were given to the Russian Ministry of Defense by Türkiye, not Ukraine directly. And he personally instructed the Ministry of Defense to resume participation in the agreement.
At the same time, Putin stressed that "Russia reserves the right to withdraw from these agreements if these guarantees are violated by Ukraine."
The Russian President added that even if Russia withdraws from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, it will be ready to supply "the poorest countries" with grain instead of Ukraine.
It is worth noting that Russian warships are a legitimate target for Ukrainian forces, and even if the attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet was carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there were no violations on the part of Ukraine. And Russia is just, as always, substituting the concepts.
Background:
- Russia announced the suspension of its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative after the attack on vessels of the Black Sea Fleet in occupied Sevastopol (Crimea).
- The UN then stated that all agreements remained in force, and inspectors of the organisation would carry on checking the ships.
- The very next day [31 October], Putin began to hint that the Russian Federation was prepared to return to the agreement.
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