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ANKARA/KYIV – Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders warned would increase hunger globally.
Russia, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, announced the reversal after Turkey and the United Nations helped keep Ukrainian grain flowing for several days without a Russian role in inspections.
The defence ministry justified the change by saying it had received guarantees from Ukraine that it would not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia. Kyiv did not immediately comment on that, but has denied in the past using the shipping corridor as cover for attacks.
“The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” a defence ministry statement said.
The grain deal, originally reached three months ago, had alleviated a global food crisis by lifting a de facto Russian blockade on Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest grain suppliers. The prospect of it collapsing this week revived fears of the food crisis worsening and prices rising.
The prices of wheat, soybeans, corn and rapeseed fell sharply on global markets after Russia’s announcement, which allayed concerns about the growing unaffordability of food.
Insurance companies had paused issuing new contracts, raising the prospect that shipments could stop within days, industry sources said. But Lloyds of London insurer Ascot said that after Wednesday’s announcement it had resumed writing cover for new shipments.
Andrey Sizov, head of the Russia-focused Sovecon agriculture consultancy, said Moscow’s decision was “quite an unexpected turnaround” but the deal remained shaky given uncertainty about whether it would be extended past its Nov.
