On Saturday, the Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov attributed the failure of the Black Sea grain agreement to what he referred to as unfulfilled promises by Ukraine and the United Nations.
Following his address at the UN General Assembly in New York, Lavrov expressed that Russia withdrew from the crucial agreement because “all the assurances that we were given turned out to be a fraud.”
Lavrov mentioned that the agreement, which was negotiated by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022 but collapsed a year later, relied on guarantees for both Kyiv and Moscow.
“While the Ukrainian aspect of the package was executed quite effectively and swiftly, the Russian aspect was never implemented,” Lavrov stated.
As grain began flowing through reopened Black Sea passageways, Ukraine utilized those same routes to launch drone strikes on Russian vessels, alleged the foreign minister.
“We issued warnings several times. This also failed to cease,” he added.
Some background context: The agreement became necessary after Russia invaded Ukraine and imposed a blockade on its Black Sea ports. The pact had enabled Ukraine to once again export grain by sea, with ships bypassing the blockade and navigating safe passage through the waterway to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait to access global markets.
Moscow registered complaints throughout the duration of the agreement that while Ukrainian grain had been permitted to flow, Russia was impeded by various sanctions from adequately exporting its own food products. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the stated objective of the agreement, which was to supply grain to countries in need, had not been achieved due to Russia’s export barriers.
Ukraine has launched numerous attacks on Russian vessels and naval bases, such as the major strike targeting the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet on Friday. The frequency of strikes and drone attacks has escalated since the collapse of the agreement. Ukrainian officials argue that the attacks on Russian targets in the Black Sea are justified due to Moscow’s occupation of Kyiv’s territorial waters.
