After Russia and Turkey agreed in May to discuss unblocking Ukrainian ports, in which ships containing tens of millions of grain have been trapped for weeks, Kyiv has expressed doubt that any such deal will come to fruition.
On Wednesday, Russia and Turkey voiced support for establishing a safe corridor in the Black Sea to allow the ships to leave, with pressure increasing from African Union countries for Putin to allow the grain to reach their shores.
Ukraine and Russia blame one another for the blockade, with the Kremlin demanding that Ukraine remove naval mines from the Black Sea, and Russia insisting that sanctions against the country make it virtually impossible for the ships to deliver the grain to global markets.
On Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss proposals to unblock the port of Odesa, along with multiple other ports on the Black Sea, and allow the grain to be shipped out. The matter is becoming increasingly urgent, with African countries warning of a major food shortage this year if the situation is not resolved.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said on Wednesday that a deal is essential, but that revealing any information about the discussion right now would “jeopardize the chances of success.”
Russia’s “Empty Words”
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko dismissed Russia’s offer to unblock the port of Odesa as meaningless on Wednesday, arguing that requests to remove naval mines from the Black Sea would leave the country open to attack by the Russians.
“Lavrov’s words are empty,” Nikolenko said. “Russia cannot be allowed to use grain corridors to attack southern Ukraine.”
Russia not only insists that the Black Sea mines must be removed entirely, but the Kremlin proposed a deal earlier this month to allow the ships to leave the ports in exchange for the relaxing of some economic sanctions against the country.
U.S. Won’t Do Deal With Russia
The Kremlin reiterated calls for the relaxing of Western sanctions against Moscow in exchange for allowing the grain to be delivered to international markets.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that Russian grain would be delivered to international markets only when “direct and indirect sanctions” against Russia are lifted.
Peskov said that the sanctions were limiting Russia’s ability to make and receive international payments, obtain necessary insurance, and access European ports.
Biden administration officials and U.S. legislators, however, aren’t on board with the plan.
According to a report by Politico, U.S. officials are skeptical that Russia is acting in good faith by asking for the sanctions to be relaxed. One United Nations official told Politico that the proposal has impacted the “fragile” negotiations to bring the conflict to an end.
A U.S. official also described Moscow’s proposal as “extortion diplomacy,” and suggested that the United States government would not agree to the deal.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
