The deal announced on Saturday (AEST) will enable Ukraine – one of the world’s key breadbaskets – to export 22 million tonnes of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports since Russia invaded the country. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it “a beacon of hope” for millions of hungry people who have faced huge increases in food costs.
A combine harvester cuts through a field of wheat in Kryvyi Rih,Ukraine,last month.Bloomberg
“A deal that allows grain to leave Black Sea ports is nothing short of lifesaving for people across the world who are struggling to feed their families,” said Red Cross Director-General Robert Mardini. Mardini noted that over the past six months prices for food staples have risen 187 per cent in Sudan,86 per cent in Syria,60 per cent in Yemen and 54 per cent in Ethiopia.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed separate,identical deals with Guterres and Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar at a ceremony in Istanbul that was witnessed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However,representatives declined to sit at the same table and avoided shaking hands at the agreement ceremony,reflecting wider enmity.
“Today,there is a beacon on the Black Sea,” Guterres said. “A beacon of hope,a beacon of possibility,a beacon of relief in a world that needs it more than ever.”
UN Secretary General,Antonio Guterres,right,and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu,left,sign the documents at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul,AP
“You have overcome obstacles and put aside differences to pave the way for an initiative that will serve the common interests of all,” he said,addressing the envoys.
The European Union immediately welcomed the agreements.
“This is a critical step forward in efforts to overcome the global food insecurity caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “Its success will depend on the swift and good faith implementation of today’s agreement.”
A port in Odessa,Ukraine,on March 15.Salwan Georges/Washington Post
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat,corn and sunflower oil,but Russia’s invasion and naval blockade have halted shipments. Some Ukrainian grain is being transported through Europe by rail,road and river,but the prices of vital commodities like wheat and barley have soared during the nearly five-month war.
Guterres said the plan,known as the Black Sea Initiative,opens a path for significant volumes of commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian ports:Odessa,Chernomorsk and Yuzhny.
“It will help stabilise global food prices,which were already at record levels even before the war – a true nightmare for developing countries,” Guterres added.
The deal makes provisions for the safe passage of ships through the heavily mined waters. A coordination centre will be established in Istanbul,staffed by UN,Turkish,Russian and Ukrainian officials,to monitor the ships and run the process through specific corridors. Ships would undergo inspections to ensure they are not carrying weapons.
A senior UN official said cargo ships would use “safe channels” identified by Ukraine as they sail in and out of ports and would be guided by Ukrainian pilots. The plan does not foresee a further demining of Ukraine’s territorial waters,which would have delayed the process.
No military ships would be used as escorts but a minesweeper would be on standby in case the safe channels “need occasional verification,” the official said.
A farmer collects harvest on a field around a crater left by a Russian rocket 10km from the front line in the Dnipropetrovsk region,Ukraine,on July 4.AP
Ships entering the Ukrainian ports would be scrutinised by inspection teams that would include representatives of all parties involved to make sure there are no weapons on board. The unloading of grain onto the vessels will also be monitored.
A key element of the deal is an agreement by both Russia and Ukraine that there will be no attacks on any of the vessels,according to the official.
It will take a few weeks before the deal is fully working,the official noted,saying Ukraine needs about 10 days to get the ports ready and also needs time to “identify and be clear about those safe corridors”.
An initial movement of ships could be possible before then “just to show that they can work,” the official said.
More than 9000 Ukrainians have “disappeared” since Russia invaded on February 24.
The aim is to export about 5 million tonnes of grains per month to empty Ukraine’s silos in time for the new harvest,according to the UN official. The agreement is for a renewable 120-day period.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the agreement as unlocking about $US10 billion ($14 billion) worth of grain exports,but on the war,he said there could be no ceasefire unless lost territory was retaken.
”Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest,” he toldThe Wall Street Journal.
“Society believes that all the territories must be liberated first,and then we can negotiate about what to do and how we could live in the centuries ahead.”
Guterres first raised the critical need to get Ukraine’s agricultural production and Russia’s grain and fertiliser back into world markets in late April during meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Zelensky in Kyiv.
He proposed a package deal in early June amid fears that the war was endangering food supplies for many developing nations and could worsen hunger for up to 181 million people.
Guterres described the deal as an unprecedented agreement between two parties engaged in a bloody conflict. Erdogan said he hoped the initiative would be “a new turning point that will revive hopes for peace”.
Before the deal,Russian and Ukrainian officials blamed each other for the blocked grain shipments. Moscow accused Ukraine of failing to remove sea mines at the ports to allow safe shipping and insisted on its right to check incoming ships for weapons. Ukraine argued that Russia’s port blockade and launching of missiles from the Black Sea made any safe shipments impossible.
AP
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