Ukraine and Russia signed a deal Friday to release an estimated 22 million tons of wheat and other crops, allowing Ukrainian grain to be exported, which will be supervised by Turkey and the United Nations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attended the signing ceremony, with Russia represented by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukraine by the Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, who signed the deal separately with Turkey and the UN.
Turkey first announced the tentative deal last week after hosting talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the UN. Under the agreement, Ukrainian vessels would guide ships in and out of Ukraine’s heavily mined ports, and Russia would agree not to attack the area while shipments were moving.
Turkey’s role will be to inspect ships leaving Ukrainian ports for smuggled arms, and Istanbul would have the support of the UN for the mission. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to be in Istanbul on Friday for the signing of the deal.
Turkey has emerged as a broker between Russia and Ukraine and has been calling for a negotiated solution to end the war, unlike the US and other NATO members that have shown little interest in diplomacy.
Despite having no involvement in the brokering of the grain deal, the US said Thursday that it will hold Russia "accountable" to see that it’s implemented.
The Russian and Ukrainian authorities have committed themselves not to targetting merchant ships, civilian vessels, and the ports, but it is reported that the Ukrainians have not sought any specific security guarantees.
A senior UN official said the Russians had kept their word when a deal was made to evacuate the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and the embattled steel factory Azovstal earlier this year, so they expect the Russians would uphold the current agreement.
“Turkey’s role will be to inspect ships leaving Ukrainian ports for smuggled arms”
Shouldn’t that be … ‘Turkey’s role will be to inspect ships before arriving to Ukrainian ports …”
I’m certain Russia would provide cargo ships if Ukraine wanted to disarm itself.
Yes, it should be the other way around…! Unless, Ukraine is provided with discounted or free arms by US and is selling them at a higher price to other countries…!
That already has been reported as happening. Just like with Syria whereby US would replenish Gulf states with arms whilst the obsolete ones would be dispersed to Syrian rebels.
This is very good, hopefully poor countries will benefit. It is sad that the US and EU was willing to sacrifice them for the MIC.
I imagine that Biden/Blinken is upset over the loss of the propaganda value. So now, they will be looking for some way to show that Russia is not honoring the deal. But, the UN will be tracking this as well, so we might get some reliable information.
One suspects that Turkey’s role is to inspect ships headed 𝐭𝐨 Ukraine for smuggled weapons. I’m not sure why Russia would care about ships smuggling weapons 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 Ukraine.
I assume this deal implies that sanctions designed to prevent Russia from exporting its own grain will be lifted because that was one of the items on the table. Russia exports 3 times as much grain as Ukraine. I hope that someone reports how much grain (and fertilizer) can now be shipped by companies that do business with Russia. That could be a real eye opener, and it will likely have a much larger impact on global hunger than the grain coming from Ukraine.
You can sign this. You could of signed an agreement , a Minsk 3, where firing over the line of control was punished, then this war/special operation would not exist. Peace.Cut-a-deal. Avoid another cold war.
Same as it ever was.
Common sense. 🙂
The west wants a Cold War because Russian oil nearly destroyed the petrodollar.
For a slightly more informative and balanced account, see the UN website
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1123062
which says the following:
An “unprecedented agreement” on the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea amid the ongoing war is “a beacon of hope” in a world that desperately needs it, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the signing ceremony in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Friday.
The UN plan, which also paves the way for Russian food and fertilizer to reach global markets, will help to stabilize spiralling food prices worldwide and stave off famine, affecting millions….
“Since the war started, I have been highlighting that there is no solution to the global food crisis without ensuring full global access to Ukraine’s food products and Russian food and fertilizer [said Guterres]….
Two UN Task Forces were established in parallel on the talks – one focused on the shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, which was led by UN humanitarian affairs chief Martin Griffiths, and the other on facilitating access of Russian food and fertilizers, headed by Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD. ”
Another UN press release states:
An agreement was also reached with the Russian Federation on the scope of engagement of the United Nations to facilitate the unimpeded exports to world markets of Russian food and fertilizer – including the raw materials required to produce fertilizers. This agreement is based on the principle that measures imposed on the Russian Federation do not apply to these products.
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2022-07-22/note-correspondents-today%E2%80%99s-agreements
The first press release also makes it clear that the ships will be inspected before reaching the Ukrainian ports, as well as after:
The Secretary-General also announced the establishment of a Joint Coordination Centre to monitor implementation. It will be hosted in Istanbul and will include representatives from Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye.
Inspection teams will monitor the onloading of grain at the three ports. Ukrainian pilot vessels will guide the ships through the Black Sea, which is mined, after which they will head out through the Bosphorus Strait along an agreed corridor.
Ships going into the ports also will be inspected.
Agreement basically changes little – Ukrainians still need to clear their minefields, the Allied passage corridors have existed for weeks now.
That has disappeared from US media coverage of this deal.
When I posted this in the Wash Post, I was vigorously abused for being a liar and a Russian, in pay of GRU, and addressed in what I take to be the Russian language.
They really desperately do not want to know, do not want to hear it, will not admit it.
Again: 80% of that harvest is grain from people the US imposed Nazi regime otherwise refers to as “cockroaches” and “subhumans” gobbled up by said regime and stored in silos closer to Kiev. This year’s harvest however is burned down wherever they get a chance to do so while NATO media screams how Ukrainians care about “world hunger”.
Next years profit will go to the Novorossiyans (i.e the southern half of the country) themselves and by then the Lvov regime will be totally dependent on EU handouts for its survival.
Russia, the nr1 exporter has already made a deal with the African Union in this regard, what it all comes down to now is obstructions, sabotage and sanctions from the west.
Other news said Ukraine would clear the mines for wheat cargo ship traffic…! It looks like they keep the mines in place…!
Of course Ukraine signs a grain deal then moves missiles next to the grain!
I read the Kremlin already admitted it was their missiles.
Your comment made Critical_thinker edit his statement. How funny. He posted a BS comment then conveniently changes it.
But i think I remember what he initially posted,
It was something along the lines that Ukrainians staged the missile attack to blame Russia. That it was a false flag.
Looking back at what he originally posted, the part he left out of the repost was his call for the killing of a specific individual, which is not allowed here.
On Friday Russia signs a deal and on Saturday they break it by striking the port.
What was hit in Odessa Port was US/NATO military weapons placed at the Port to use the agreement as a shield. In the same way the Banderites use schools, hospitals etc as a shield. These actions are not permitted by international law and are war crimes.
Russia is not playing games. US/NATO/Ukraine has no options, the SMO will denazify Western Ukraine and then Europe. I support the Russian actions and the Hague will in time deal with the supreme international criminals that the Western powers are.
This is Doom Sternz, Reporting from the Kremlin.
Russia Russia Russia right. Do you understand how desperate your response is? You have nothing but stupid nonsense. Grow Up.
Trying to reason with messianic, narcissistic and delusional racist maniacs is a futile task.
https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2022/07/15/235-the-affordability-crisis/
The Affordability Crisis.