Russia has suspended its participation in a UN-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine, citing unmet demands. The suspension raises concerns about higher food prices globally, as Ukraine and Russia are major grain exporters.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the move "a blow to people in need everywhere".Russia has halted participation in the year-old UN-brokered deal that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea, spreading fear in poorer countries that price rises will put food out of reach.
"Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres signalled that Russia's withdrawal meant that the related pact to facilitate Russia's grain and fertiliser exports was also terminated.
In Washington, the White House said Russia's suspension of the pact "will worsen food security and harm millions".The Black Sea grain deal allowed grain to flow to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.Ukraine and Russia are some of the world's biggest exporters of grain and other foodstuffs and any interruption could drive up food prices across the globe.
"I don't know how we will survive," said Halima Hussein, a mother of five children living in a crowded camp in Somalia's capital Mogadishu for people displaced by years of failed rains and violence.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the prospect of resuming grain exports without Russia's participation, suggesting Kyiv would seek Türkiye's support to effectively negate the Russian de facto blockade imposed last year.
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