G20 leaders demand resumption of grain deal but Russia put condition to be met first

The world leaders at G20 New Delhi demanded the necessity of Russian grains and fertilizers for the developing and least developed world to secure their food security. 

In this context, the leaders demanded stopping military destruction or attack on relevant infrastructure which are important for sustaining food and energy security.  

Ukraine and Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporters, have been at war since February 2022, which severely impacted the global food supply.

The world leaders at G20 New Delhi, in its joint declaration, recognized last year's deals between the Russian Federation and the United Nations, which saved millions of people from hunger. 

However, Russia didn’t show any interest in the resumption of grain deals until their conditions were met. 
Russia's Kremlin spokesperson said, today, that their conditions should be met before returning to grain deals. One of the main demands of Russia is to reconnect its state agricultural bank ¬– to the international SWIFT bank payments system.

The last year deal was known as The Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian ports, also called the Black Sea Grain Initiative.  Ukraine is known as one of the breadbaskets of the world, supplying grains to many developing countries and African countries. The deal was negotiated in July 2022 between Turkey, the UN and Russia to ensure a safe passage between Ukraine and Russia’s grains.

The Initiative specifically allows for commercial food and fertilizer (including ammonia) exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – Odesa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhny/Pivdennyi. However, the Initiative was not renewed after its third term, which expired on 17 July 2023, which put many least developed and developing economies vulnerable to scarcity of foods.

The leaders at G20 New Delhi state in their declaration that “We appreciate the efforts of Türkiye and UN-brokered Istanbul Agreements consisting of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the Secretariat of the United Nations on Promoting Russian Food Products and Fertilizers to the World Markets and the Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports (Black Sea Initiative),”. 

“This is necessary to meet the demand in developing and least developed countries, particularly those in Africa,” the statement further said.

Source: New India Express