6 minutes agoEU official urges Russia to return to grain deal
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)A senior European Union official has called on Russia to renew the grain deal in order to enable safe export of Ukrainian cereals through Black Sea ports. Last month, Russia withdrew from the deal. European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Russian restrictions [...]
Last month, Russia withdrew from the deal.
European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Russian restrictions on exporting Ukrainian cereals across the Black Sea are creating problems not only for Kiev, but also for many developing countries.
Russia is using <x1ndrills as weapons”, said Dombrovski, who is in India, where he is participating in the group's meeting of 20 most industrialized states.
“We support all efforts by the United Nations, Turkey, for the initiative of the Black Sea cereals”, he told reporters, adding that the European bloc is promising the alternative trade route, which is otherwise being called a path of solidarity which Ukraine is using to export cereals and other products.
Turkey is trying to convince Moscow to return to the agreement, which was brokered by Ankara and the UN last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres earlier this week that Russia will return to the agreement only if the West fulfils its obligations to Moscow.
Since the end of the deal, about 45 million tonnes of cereal, oil seeds and other agricultural products have been exported through alternative routes across Poland and Romania, offering orphans' assistance to Ukraine, Dombrovski said.
The EU is supporting Ukraine with defence assistance, financial assistance and other assistance. This assistance, according to Dombrovskis, aims to push Russian “trus beyond Ukraine's international borders”.
