Russia said on Monday that it was pausing its participation in an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export its grain by sea despite a wartime blockade, upending a deal seen as essential to keeping global food prices stable.
The announcement appeared to be the most serious blow yet to a year-old agreement that had been a rare example of cooperation between the warring nations, and had helped to alleviate part of the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine is a major producer of grain and other foodstuffs, and the United Nations had warned that some countries in the Middle East and Africa faced famine if Kyiv could not export its goods via the Black Sea.
A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told journalists on Monday that the agreement was “suspended,” but added that the decision was not connected to the attack hours earlier on the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea. Russian officials blamed Ukraine for the bridge attack, but Kyiv has not taken responsibility.
Speaking about the grain agreement, Mr. Peskov said: “As soon as the Russian part will get fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the implementation of that deal.”
The deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative and brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, had been set to expire on Monday. There was no immediate statement from either the United Nations or Turkey on Russia’s announcement. A U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that the United Nations had received notification of Russia’s decision.
Last week, the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter containing proposals for President Vladimir V. Putin in an effort to meet Russia’s conditions for extending the deal.
U.N. and Turkish negotiators spent the weekend awaiting a response from Moscow as the clock ticked down. Grain exports from Ukraine’s ports had dwindled almost to zero in the days before the deal expired.
Russia has repeatedly complained about the agreement, which it considers one-sided in Ukraine’s favor. A rare example of fruitful negotiations between the warring parties, the deal successfully eased shortages that resulted from blockades in the first months of the war, which caused global wheat prices to soar. It allowed Ukraine to restart the export of millions of tons of grain that had languished for months, and it has been renewed multiple times, most recently in May.
But Moscow has argued that while the deal has benefited Ukraine, Western sanctions have restricted the sale of Russia’s agricultural products. Last week, in an effort to address Russia’s demands, Mr. Guterres sent Mr. Putin proposals that he said would “remove hurdles affecting financial transactions” through Russia’s agricultural bank while allowing the Ukrainian grain shipments to continue.
In addition to its hope for smoother financial transactions, Russia has sought guarantees that would facilitate exports of its own grain and fertilizers, and the reopening of an ammonia pipeline that crosses Ukraine.
Last week, Mr. Putin said that Russia “may suspend our participation in this agreement,” according to Tass, a state news agency. “And if everyone reiterates that all promises given to us will be fulfilled — let them fulfill these promises. And we will immediately join this agreement. Again.”
Last year, Russia halted participation in inspections that were part of the deal, only to rejoin in a matter of days.
Ukraine has exported 32.8 million tons of grain and other food since the initiative began, according to U.N. data. Under the agreement, ships are permitted to pass by Russian naval vessels that effectively have blockaded Ukraine’s ports since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The ships are inspected off the coast of Istanbul, in part to ensure they are not carrying weapons.
