The Kremlin assessed the prospect of resuming the grain deal

The exit of the second vessel from the port of Odessa after the termination of the grain deal will not affect its prospects, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

“No, this has nothing to do with the prospects for resuming the grain deal. The prospect of resuming the grain deal directly depends on the substantive fulfillment – not in words, but in deeds – of those promises, those obligations that were before the Russian side, that is, the fulfillment of the deal in its Russian part,” he told reporters.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense monitors ships that go to the Black Sea, Peskov stressed.

August 26 Ukrainian media reportedthat the bulk carrier Primus, which has been in the country since February 2022, left the port of Odessa, becoming the second ship to leave the Ukrainian port after the termination of the grain deal. On August 16, the container ship Joseph Schulte left the port of Odessa and reached the Bosphorus.

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov said that the ship had been in the port since February 23, 2022. On August 10, the Ukrainian Navy announced temporary corridors in the Black Sea for merchant ships heading from or to Ukrainian ports. On August 12, the registration of merchant ships was opened, which are ready to pass on temporary routes.

On July 17, Russia left the Black Sea Initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin explained this by the failure to fulfill the second part of the agreement, which concerns, among other things, the lifting of restrictions on the supply of Russian products.

On July 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense declared all ships going to Ukrainian ports as potential military targets. This decision was made in connection with the termination of the “Black Sea Initiative” and the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor.