Ukrainian grains
Eko Hot Blog reports that Russia has said it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from war-torn Ukraine.
The reversal comes days after Moscow pulled out of the deal, a move that world leaders had said threatened to worsen global hunger.
Russia had claimed that it could not guarantee safety for civilian ships crossing the Black Sea after an attack on its fleet.
Vessels shipping Ukrainian grains
However, Moscow made a U-turn on Wednesday, saying it had received guarantees from Kyiv not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia.
“The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” a Russian defence ministry statement said.
The grain deal, originally reached three months ago, had dispelled a global food crisis by lifting a de facto Russian blockade on Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest suppliers.
The prospect that it could fall apart this week had revived fears of global hunger and pushed up prices.
The deal runs out on November 19 and a European diplomat briefed on the grain talks told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely to use the possible extension as a way to gain leverage and dominate next month’s G20 summit in Indonesia.
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