The mine threat paralyzed cargo routes on the Black Sea. Now Turkish military boats are supposed to protect Ukrainian grain ships.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
Istanbul Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating in secret for more than six weeks – together with representatives of the United Nations and the Turkish military. Now an agreement is apparently ready to be signed. This means that Ukrainian grain could again be offered on the world markets in the future, which would curb the looming food crisis.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Turkey to sign an agreement in Istanbul, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax agency on Friday. “We can confirm that the signing is being prepared,” Peskov said.
According to Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will sign an agreement on Friday in Ankara to resume Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea. The office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that UN Secretary-General António Guterres would also attend the ceremony. Following the announcement, grain prices eased around the world.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world. The blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has caused grain prices to skyrocket around the world and sparked an international food crisis. Dozens of ships are stranded, around 20 million tons of grain are waiting for export in the silos of the port of Odessa.
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Since the beginning of the year, wheat has become more expensive on the world market by 60 percent. “World stocks are only enough for the next ten weeks,” warns an analysis company that collects data for the United Nations. Statistics from the US Department of Agriculture confirm the assessment.
Wheat future heading for biggest daily loss in months
High agricultural product prices threaten food security around the world, especially in the southern hemisphere. In order to protect themselves, many emerging countries are sealing themselves off, imposing export restrictions and thus fueling the crisis even further.
Details of the agreement are not yet known, but the basics are already emerging. The prospect of an agreement already caused wheat prices to fall on Friday. In the meantime, the European future was heading for its biggest daily loss in four and a half months, down 5.6 percent to EUR 316.50 per tonne. The US contract lost almost four percent.
About a week ago, diplomats said that the main issue was guarantees for safe, mine-free passage for Ukrainian grain ships. In addition, Turkey should inspect the freighters with the support of the United Nations in order to allay Russian concerns about arms smuggling.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the treaty obliges Russia and Ukraine to ensure safe export routes in the Black Sea. However, Ukraine will only agree if the security of the southern regions of Ukraine is assured. “Strong positions” of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Black Sea and secure exports of Ukrainian agricultural products must also be guaranteed.
Turkey: The last NATO member in the Black Sea
In fact, Turkey can guarantee this, since it is able to secure sea transport with its own military boats. Warships from countries that do not border the Black Sea are currently not allowed to transit the Bosphorus due to the so-called Montreux Convention. Turkey, on the other hand, as the rights holder of the convention and as a bordering country on the Black Sea, continues to be legally present in the Black Sea with its own navy.
There has been progress in negotiations on grain exports from Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
The NATO member’s two Turkish frigates, two submarines and half a dozen patrol and fast attack ships are currently waiting in the Black Sea. And more ships could be called quickly for a protection mission, Yörük Isik, head of the Istanbul-based consulting firm Bosphorus Observer, told Reuters news agency.
So far, the concerns of Ukraine have been the main arguments against this. According to reports, Russia and Turkey as well as the United Nations had agreed on this mechanism early on. Ukrainian diplomats reacted coldly when Ankara offered to clear mines from the waterways used to transport grain in June.
“There is concern that the removal of defense elements will leave Ukrainian ports vulnerable to Russian attacks,” the Foreign Ministry said in a diplomatic note at the time.
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