Russia to resume participation in Black Sea grain deal – defence ministry
2022.11.02 06:57
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Joint Coordination Centre officials sail through cargo ship Mehmet Bey as she waits to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
(Reuters) -Russia will resume its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Russia suspended its involvement in the deal over the weekend, saying it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships crossing the Black Sea because of a drone attack on its fleet there.
“The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that thanks to the involvement of the United Nations and Turkey, it had been possible to obtain written guarantees from Ukraine that it would not use the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports to conduct military operations against Russia.
The statement represented an about-turn by Moscow, which had previously said it would be risky and unacceptable for ships to continue sailing through the humanitarian corridor set up under a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered deal in July.
