The Kremlin announced the suspension of the grain deal

The agreements on the grain deal have actually been terminated, it has been stopped, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

“In fact, the Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today. As the President of the Russian Federation said earlier, the deadline is July 17. Unfortunately, the part relating to Russia in this Black Sea agreement has not yet been implemented. Therefore, its action is terminated. As soon as the Russian part is completed, the Russian side will immediately return to the implementation of this deal,” Peskov said.

At the same time, the presidential press secretary stressed that the decision was not related to the explosion on the Crimean bridge on the night of July 17. “No, these are completely unrelated events. Even before this terrorist attack, the position was declared by President Putin,” Peskov said.

According to him, Moscow is ready to return to the implementation of the deal as soon as the part of the Black Sea agreements concerning Russia is fulfilled.

July 17 is the deadline for the grain deal. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it sees no reason to extend it until Russian conditions are met. On July 13, President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin, said that Moscow could suspend participation in the grain deal until all obligations to Russia were fulfilled. In addition, he called the agreement “a one-sided game.”

The deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN, on the one hand, and representatives of Russia and Ukraine, on the other. The Ukrainian part of the deal implies the unhindered export of grain from the ports of Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, the Russian part – easing restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers.