Russia will agree to extend Black Sea Grain Initiative – Bloomberg

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a Russian-Ukrainian agreement brokered by the UN and Türkiye launched on 22 July 2022 to enable ships to transport grain from three Ukrainian ports, will likely be extended.

Source: Bloomberg, citing anonymous Turkish officials

Details: Sources told Bloomberg that Russia currently appears to be in favour of extending the grain agreement.

The agreement, brokered by Türkiye and the UN, will keep a major trade route open and increase global food supplies. 

Russia had threatened to withdraw from the agreement if obstacles to the supply of its own crops and fertilisers were not removed.

Background: Serhii Kyslytsia, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, has said at a meeting of the UN Security Council that Russia is blackmailing the world by disrupting the Black Sea Grain Initiative and pretending to lose from its effect, while in fact, grain exports from Russia had doubled.

Ukraine considers it possible that the Grain Initiative will come to an end on 18 May, when it is set to expire, with no additional talks set to take place this week.

Parties to the Black Sea Grain Initiative held two-day talks in Istanbul last week, and might reach an agreement soon.

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