Russia threatens to renew blockade of Ukraine’s grain
Joel Gehrke
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to renew a maritime blockade of Ukraine‘s grain exports, according to a senior Kremlin official.
“No deal can stand on one foot; it must stand on two feet,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, per state media. “In this regard, of course, judging by the current situation, the prospects [for extension] are not so good.”
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Peskov raised that prospect one day after United Nations officials confirmed that Russia had blocked “routine inspections” of Ukrainian vessels. Their obstruction came on the heels of another threat from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but U.N. officials hope to manage the dilemma and stave off global food shortages.
“We urge all involved to meet their responsibilities to ensure that vessels continue to move smoothly and safely in the interest of global food security,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday. “As of today, there are 50 vessels waiting to move to the Ukrainian ports … This critical work is done against the backdrop of the ongoing war and active hostilities. We do not underestimate the challenges, but we know they can be overcome.”
The problem, in Moscow’s telling, centers on whether Russia is benefiting adequately from the implementation of the deal, which was negotiated under the auspices of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in coordination with Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
“If they do not have the desire to honestly approach what Mr. Guterres proposed and so persistently promoted, well, let them continue to ship the relevant products from Ukraine by land, by rail and by rivers,” Lavrov said last week. “And we will work, if necessary, outside the framework of this initiative. We have the opportunity to do this with Turkey, with Qatar — the presidents discussed relevant plans.”
Russian officials have justified their obstruction of Ukrainian grain exports on the grounds that it is leverage to ensure fair treatment of Russian agriculture exports by Western powers, although the U.S. and European Union have stated that Russian food exports are not subject to any sanctions. And former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of Putin’s security council, stated that “our food is our silent weapon” in a social media post last April as Russian forces conceded defeat in the battle of Kyiv.
“The deal was extended for 60 days but not completely, exclusively due to the fact that precisely half of this so-called deal has not worked and is not working now,” Peskov said Wednesday.
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The current extension began on March 22, starting a 60-day clock that winds down next month if no other event hastens or forestalls its lapse. Western officials have surmised that Putin regards the blockade as an indirect way to spark a refugee crisis in Europe by choking off food supplies to impoverished countries in Africa and other parts of the developing world.
“My fear is this could be a bomb, a migration bomb,” Nibulon chief executive Andriy Vadatursky, who leads a Ukrainian grain logistics company, told the Guardian. “The Russians behave like gangsters. They created the problem. They kill Ukrainians and don’t give a stuff for the law.”