Before it had to come back to the table, the Russian Federation had suspended its participation in the landmark grain deal initiated under the auspices of Türkiye and the United Nations, in a move that had threatened to exacerbate hunger across the world.
Russia had accused Ukraine of an attack on its warships at the Black Sea port of occupied Sevastopol, which has nothing to do with ensuring the grain corridor. Moreover, these ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation were used to launch massive missile strikes on peaceful cities in Ukraine. From July 22, when the grain initiative had been launched, Russia struck the ports of Ukraine several times, which are precisely involved in the functioning of the grain corridor.
I would like to remind you that there are two separate agreements in the grain initiative. The first is a tripartite document between Ukraine, the U.N. and Türkiye. So far, no violation of these agreements has been recorded; because those parties are not interested in bringing hunger to the countries of Africa or Asia.
The deal worked great and brought good results. All three parties well understood that global food security has been stabilized with this initiative. There is a reasonable question: What does Russia bring to the world by trying to put the above-mentioned countries at risk of food security?
In terms of export volume, Ukraine was among the five largest grain exporters in the world. Ukraine supplied 10% of world wheat exports, more than 14% of corn and more than 47% of sunflower oil. More than 400 million people in the world depend on food supplies from Ukraine.
Our goal is simple – to continue exporting food in accordance with its international obligations. As of Oct. 1, 68% of the total export of wheat from the Ukrainian ports was shipped to the countries of Africa and Asia, and 58% of the export of corn went to Europe. In total, 95 ships with Ukrainian grain were sent to Europe, 113 to Asia and 33 to Africa.
De-facto, Ukraine and Türkiye are saving the world from hunger and many countries praised our efforts. And what was the reaction of the country that is used mainly to destroy, spoil or make people suffer?
From the very beginning of the agreements, Russia was dissatisfied with the role of Ukraine and Türkiye in preserving global food security. Moscow traditionally wanted to make the world dependent on itself and started to create problems. First, Russians attacked Ukrainian seaports, which had been involved in the grain deal. Then, in September they began to slow down inspections of ships and suspended its role in the agreement. Thus, the Russian Federation once again demonstrated that it is an unreliable partner that does not fulfill its obligations under international agreements.
We may recall that in September, Putin had already hinted about the possible cancellation of the the Turkish and U.N.-brokered grain deal that allowed the shipment of vital Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea. Then he claimed that allegedly Ukrainian grain does not reach African countries, which feel the greatest need for it. That statement was another manipulation of the Russian Federation, and finally, it lead to the attempt of blocking the July's Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Today Russia is a different country than it was even last February. Irresponsible Kremlin authorities brought its people and armed forces to the deadlock by starting a war against Ukraine. Being isolated internationally and losing ground on the front lines in Ukraine, Russia tries to raise the stakes and escalate the situation. But the reaction of the world is a clear reflection of Russia’s decreasing global role and influence.
In this situation the role of Türkiye and personally President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was crucial. With full dedication to the international agreement and responsibility for global food security – as President Erdoğan stated: "Türkiye will continue to work for humanity" – Ankara's strong stance helped to overcome the crisis with diplomatic means and allowed the continuation of functioning of the grain agreement.
Ukraine also remains fully committed to contributing to this initiative and will put all its efforts to strengthen global food security and bring peace to its soil.
*Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Türkiye
