The Joint Coordination Center established in Istanbul and from which the agreement for the export of grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea is managed has been notified by Russia that it is withdrawing “immediately” from this initiativea United Nations source in Geneva confirmed to EFE.
Russia and Ukraine reached this agreement a year ago with the mediation of the UN and Turkeywhich in recent weeks multiplied their efforts to achieve a new extension of the agreement, which expired today after two extensions, in March and May.
Russia recently expressed its intention to put an end to this arrangement, which has allowed the export of more than 32 tons of food from Ukraine to 45 countries on three continents.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that he had discussed and agreed with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putinin the need to extend the agreement, amid criticism from Kremlin representatives that the part of the pact that should facilitate the export of their food and fertilizers had been systematically breached.
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The agreement was negotiated in the midst of the food crisis that had been unleashed by the interruption as a result of the war of the output of agricultural products -particularly cereals and certain derivatives, as well as fertilizers- from both countries, which are among the largest grain exporters in the world.
The initiative included cargo departures from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, but Russia left out the latter a month ago.
At the same time, inspections of ships heading to Ukraine to load products had slowed down considerably, slowing down the pace of exports.
These inspections were carried out in particular by Russian agents to ensure that unauthorized merchandise was not transported.
The main demands that Russia considers unfulfilled are the reconnection of its agricultural bank, Rosseljozbank, to the SWIFT international banking system, the lifting of sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery, the unblocking of logistics and transport insurance, and the unfreezing of assets.
It also demanded that the operation of the ammonia pipeline that connects the Togliatti plant, in Russia, with the port of Odessa, in Ukraine, and which was bombed at the beginning of June, be resumed.
This infrastructure has not worked since the Russian aggression against its neighbor began.
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EFE International news agency based in Madrid and present in more than 110 countries.