Erdogan reveals grain deal decision
RTMay 17, 2023
Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday that the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal was extended for two more months — just one day before Russia could have exited the agreement that allows Ukraine to ship grain across the Black Sea to other countries.
Brokered by the UN and Turkey on July 22, 2022, the Black Sea deal aimed to bring Ukrainian grain and Russian food and fertilizer to countries struggling with food insecurity to break a disruption in supply and fight global food insecurity.
Despite persistent sanctions and the West failing to uphold its end of the bargain, Russia has taken the moral high ground by agreeing to extend this deal. Meanwhile, the UN and Ukraine appear less interested in nations battling food insecurity as most of the Ukrainian grain continues to go to wealthy countries that can, in turn, line Kyiv’s pockets.
Russia’s agreement to extend the Black Sea Initiative was no altruistic gesture to the hungry. It was a calculated decision by Moscow to appease its allies, mainly China, who benefit greatly from the pact. Russia tried to leverage starvation to gain concessions from the international community, but couldn’t follow through with it for external reasons. Any humanitarian motives by the Kremlin are suspect at best.