Putin says there will be no new Ukraine grain deal until the West meets his demands

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that a landmark deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain safely through the Black Sea won’t be restored until the West meets Moscow’s demands on its own to facilitate Russian agricultural exports.

Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed the Kremlin’s demands as a ploy to advance its own interests.

Still, Putin’s remarks dashed hopes that his talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could revive the agreement, seen as vital for global food supplies, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Russia refused to extend the deal in July, complaining that a parallel agreement promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer hadn’t been honored. It said restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade, though it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year. Putin reiterated those complaints Monday.

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Erdogan said Turkey and the United Nations — which brokered the original deal — have put together a new package of proposals.

“We believe that we will reach a solution that will meet the expectations in a short time,” Erdogan said at the news conference held with Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi.

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock lashed out, saying Putin’s “game with the grain agreement is cynical.”

A lot is riding on the negotiation. Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other goods that developing nations rely on.

Data from the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which organized the Ukraine shipments, show that 57% of the grain from Ukraine went to developing nations, with the top destination being China.

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Grain prices shot up after Russia pulled out of the deal but have since fallen back, indicating that there isn’t a big crunch in the market for the moment. Failure to revive the agreement will have “drastic impacts” in countries such as Somalia and Egypt that rely heavily on Black Sea grain, according to Galip Dalay, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London.

Putin said Monday that Russia was close to finalizing an agreement to provide free grain to six African countries. Last month, he promised shipments to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and the Central African Republic.

The Russian leader added that Russia would ship 1.1 million tons of cheap grain to Turkey for processing and delivery to poor countries.

In addition to pulling out of the grain deal, Russia has repeatedly attacked the Odesa region, Ukraine’s main Black Sea port area, including in the hours before the Sochi meeting. Russia is hoping it can use its power over Ukraine’s Black Sea exports as a bargaining chip to reduce Western economic sanctions.

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Some companies have been wary of doing business with Russia because of those sanctions, even though Western allies have made assurances that food and fertilizer are exempt. Still, Moscow remains unsatisfied.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday urged Moscow to return to the deal, insisting “there were no legal and political grounds for Russia to withdraw from the agreement.”

Monday’s talks took place against a backdrop of Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s invasion forces.

In the latest development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov would be replaced this week. The job requires “new approaches,” Zelensky said, without elaborating. Reznikov on Monday published a photo of his resignation letter.

Putin and Erdogan — authoritarian leaders who have both been in power for more than two decades — are said to have a close rapport, fostered in the wake of a failed coup against Erdogan in 2016, when Putin was the first major leader to offer his support.

The Turkish president has maintained those ties during the 18-month war in Ukraine. Turkey hasn’t joined Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion, emerging as a main trading partner and logistical hub for Russia’s overseas trade.

At the same time, Turkey, a member of NATO, has also supported Ukraine, sending arms, meeting Zelensky and backing Kyiv’s bid to join the Western alliance.