Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a deal that would “ensure safe navigation” of the Black Sea for shipping following talks with the US, which says that Russia has also agreed to halt hostilities in the region.
The White House states that both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to “eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea”, as well as to implement an agreement to ban attacks on energy facilities in both Russia and Ukraine.
Agriculture agreement
The US has pledged to assist Russia in regaining access to global agricultural markets.
According to a press statement:
“The US will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”
The Kremlin has confirmed the agreement, but it has also emphasised that the US will need to uphold its promise to help restore Russian access to agricultural markets.
TASS, the Russian news agency, reported the Kremlin’s approval of the steps set out in the US statement.
This will require the restoration of access to the SWIFT bank messaging system to Russia’s Rosselkhozbank, which administers finance for agriculture businesses in the country, the Kremlin said. Most Russian banks were removed from SWIFT in 2022.
It also says that sanctions on exporters, shippers and trade finance operations would also need to be lifted.
Responses
The US added that, beyond the concessions on sanctions, the agreement also aims to help “achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, said that, while “it is too early to say that it will work”, this week’s developments “were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps”.
Ukraine’s department of defense said on Twitter/X that: “it is important to hold additional technical consultations as soon as possible to agree on all the details and technical aspects of the implementation, monitoring and control of the arrangements”.
The Guardian reports that the UK government, meanwhile, is “following developments closely”, though it has declined to commit to any actions of its own.
It added that “our position at the moment is that we are obviously hopeful of the progress”, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Background
In July 2022, the UN and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Russia and Ukraine.
The deal was used to maintain the flow of foodstuffs from Ukraine, which accounted for 10% of the world wheat market and 15% of the corn market. Immediately following Russia’s illegal invasion, international food prices spiked as grain remained stuck in Ukrainian ports.
However, Russia pulled out of the agreement in 2023, with Russian president Vladmir Putin complaining that certain parts of the agreement had not been honoured.
Since then, shipping had been moving through the Black Sea but had been subject to restrictions and risked being attacked.
