By Lateef Adegbite, With Agency Reports
When Sergei Shoigu, Russian Federation Defence minister and Oleksandr Kubrakou, Ukrainian minister of Infrastructure at the instance of their home governments to unblock Ukrainian grain exports, not many believe that Russian will keep to the deal.
This is because of their initial fear that the North American country of the United States, US, and other member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, European Union, EU, United Kingdom, UK, and Canada, which had entered into the war will use the opportunity to supply arms into Ukraine to sustain the war between the two East European countries.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation President may have proved bookmakers wrong as the first grain carrying- ship had left the Ukrainian ports since after the war broke out between the two countries on February 24, 2022, with more than 26,000 tonnes of corn on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. It was said to have safely anchored off aTurkey’s coast. There are indications that 16 other ships will leave Ukrainian ports to export grain to the world food market aimed at the global food crisis.
More Foreign shipping companies may have been encouraged to send their vessels to the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornonorsk and Pivdennyi to lift grain for export because the first shipment that had reached its final destination without obstacles. This is evident as three more ships laden with Ukrainian corn are set to depart the country on Friday, August 5, 2022, to Turkey, enroute to the world food market. . Two of the vessels ladden with Ukraine are expected from the city of Chrnomorske and one from the port of Odesa.
Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation President , who had declared a special military intervention on the neighbouring Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which has turned into a full blown war, according to Diplomatic sources met in Sochi Southern Russuan, with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Turkish Counterpart, who was said to have helped broker a grain shipment deal between the two warring countries.
Putin was said to have praised President Erdogan at the Friday , August 5, 2022 meeting at Sochi for his role in the signing of deal ‘’to unblock Ukrainian grain exports’’. The Russian President was said to have said to have told his Turkish Counterpart that his direct participation and the United Nations, UN, mediation, made it possible for ‘’the issue related to the supply of Ukrainian grain from the Black sea ports to be resolved’’.
Note that Russia blockade of the Ukrainian grain exporters access the country’s seaports was said to have made it difficult for millions of tonnes of grain to be exported to the many countries, particular, the African countries including Nigerian that was said to have relied on both Ukraine and Russia for their wheat and Fertilizer imports.
The Turkish President, according to Diplomatic sources is also expected ‘’to discuss military and technical cooperation as well as issues of grain export from Ukraine. Based on their discussion, Putin hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding, MoU, with Erdogan on the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries.
He may have gladdened President Erdogan of Turkey’s heart when he said that with the grain deal between Russian and Ukraine, on July 22, 2022, after about four months of blockade of the Ukrainian Black seaports with his direction participation , ‘’many developing countries, which are on the verge of major problems with food and Fertilizer, would heave a sigh of relief’’.
The Turkish President may have taken advantage of the meeting with his Russian Counterpart ‘’to plan discussions in detail the topics of Russian and Turkish cooperation, including prospects for further expansion of trade and economic ties and the implementation of joint strategic projects in the energy sector’’ .
An elated Russian President who was said to be happy that ‘’deliveries have already begun was said’ ‘to have thanked the Turkish President for this singular act and at the same time for ‘’the package of decisions that was made for the uninterrupted supply of Russian food and Russian Fertilizes to the global food markets’’.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President who could not hide his feeling had called for the grain shipment deal that had relaxed Russian’s of its black sea grain exports to include other products such as metals.
As a prelude to the shipment of the first Ukrainian grain out to the world food market, Hulusi Akar, Turkish Defense minister had hinted that ships have started preparing to depart from the three Black sea ports designated under the grain deal with the Russian Federation to resume cereals export that have been blocked by Russia invasion of Ukraine.
The Turkish government Defense minister had confirmed that work has resumed in the ports of Odesa, Chernonorsk and Pivdennyi. He had said that that the entry and exit of ships to the designated Ukrainian Black seaports ‘’to lift grain for export will be carried out by forming a convoy that will accompany the lead cargo ships’’.
President Muhammadu Buhari had said that the ongoing war between Russian Federation and Ukraine has ‘’ undermined the progress countries have achieved in tackling food security in the last one decade’’.
While Africans now have the opportunity to buy Ukraine grain, with the resumed export based on a grain shipment deal with Russia, Joe Biden, the US, President appears worried. Linda Thomas –Green-field, the country’s Ambassador to United Nations, UN, may have spoken the mind of the Us President when she said that ‘’African nations are free to buy Russia Agricultural products , including Fertilizer and wheat but should not trade in in US- sanctioned Commodities such as Russian oil’’ or face sanctions.
Hear the US Ambassador: We have no sanctions on any Agricultural products coming out of Russia. She may have gladdened the heart of Africans when she affirmed that’’
Russia can export their Agricultural products and countries can buy Russian Agricultural products, including fertilizers and wheat.
She further said that, ‘’if a country decides to engage with Russia where there are sanctions when they are breaking our sanctions and in some case they are UN sanctions with other countries’’. She had warned that ‘’if they do the country stand the chance of having sanctions taken against them for breaking the US and UN, sanctions.
