UPDATE - Russia’s withdrawal from grain deal 'unconscionable': US secretary of state

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM BLINKEN

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said Russia’s decision to pull out from the Black Sea grain deal is “unconscionable” and added that the deal “should be restored as quickly as possible”.

“I hope that every country is watching this very closely, they will see that Russia is responsible for denying food to people who are desperately needed around the world and to contribute to rising prices at a time when many countries continue to experience very difficult inflation,” Blinken told reporters at the State Department.

He said that the grain deal has become necessary because of Russia’s war on Ukraine and accused Moscow of weaponizing food.

Blinken said that the markets are already reacting to Russia's grain deal decision as "prices are going up".

He said the Ukrainians, the US and others will look to see if there are “any other options” to transit grain through the Black Sea onto the market, adding: “The challenge is this: if Russia is ending this initiative and sending a message that grain cannot and other food products cannot leave Ukraine unimpeded, even if there are other options, I think it will likely have a profound chilling effect on the ability to pursue them, as other countries, companies, shippers, etc., will be very concerned about what happens to their ships and to their personnel if Russia is opposing any export of food products from Ukraine."

“The whole point of this was to have a voluntary agreement that involved all of the relevant parties that was endorsed by the United Nations to make sure there was safety, security, predictability, in moving food out of Ukraine into places that were desperately in need of it,” he added.

The agreement, initially signed in July of last year in Istanbul by Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, was aimed at resuming grain exports from Ukrainian ports. These exports had been halted as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war which began in February 2022.

A Joint Coordination Center was set up in Istanbul last year with officials from the three countries and the UN to oversee the shipments.

The deal has been renewed several times since then, and it was extended for another two months on May 18.