Russia seeks drone attack probe, guarantees to resume grain deal

Putin tells Erdogan he’ll think about resuming deal permitting grain exports from Ukraine if Kyiv gives ‘ensures’.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has informed his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow would think about resuming a deal permitting grain exports from Ukrainian seaports however solely after securing “actual ensures” from Kyiv.

The telephone name between the 2 leaders on Tuesday got here following Russia’s suspension of its participation within the deal resulting from what it stated was a drone assault on Moscow’s fleet in Crimea that it blamed on Ukraine.

Kyiv has not claimed duty and has denied utilizing the protected delivery hall for army functions.

Putin informed Erdogan that Russia sought “actual ensures from Kyiv concerning the strict observance of the Istanbul settlement, particularly about not utilizing the humanitarian hall for army functions”, in response to a press release from the Kremlin.

The grain export deal between Russia and Ukraine was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July to ease a world meals disaster induced partly by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a significant grain producer, and an earlier blockade of its ports. It is because of expire on November 19.

The Kremlin stated a resumption is perhaps thought-about solely after the completion of an investigation of the alleged drone assaults on the Crimean naval port of Sevastopol.

Russia desires “an in depth investigation into the circumstances of this incident, and in addition after receipt of actual ensures from Kyiv of strict observance of the Istanbul agreements, particularly on the non-use of the humanitarian hall for army functions”.

“Solely after that may it’s attainable to contemplate the query of resuming work” inside the deal, the Kremlin assertion stated, referring to each the investigation and ensures it’s searching for.

It additionally stated Putin had reminded Erdogan of “the failure to fulfil the second a part of the bundle agreements – to unblock the export of Russian agricultural merchandise and fertilisers to world markets”.

Whereas these items aren’t topic to the Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian producers have misplaced entry to the Baltic Sea ports that they’d used for exports, and to a pipeline carrying ammonia to the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, often called Yuzhny in Russian.

In its readout of Tuesday’s name, the Turkish presidency stated Erdogan had informed Putin he was “certain a solution-oriented cooperation can be established on this challenge”.

In the meantime, Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu mentioned the take care of his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on Tuesday, the Russian defence ministry stated.

Ukraine has stated Russia’s declare was a “false pretext” to withdraw from the deal.

On Tuesday, extra cargo ships left Ukrainian ports regardless of Russia’s warning a day earlier that it was “extra dangerous, harmful” to proceed the exports with out Russia’s participation.

However the Joint Coordination Centre, the physique overseeing a deal to export Ukrainian foodstuffs, stated there aren’t any plans for grain-laden vessels to maneuver within the Black Sea on Wednesday.

“The UN Secretariat on the Joint Coordination Centre experiences that the Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations delegations agreed to not plan any motion of vessels within the Black Sea Grain Initiative for two November,” it stated Tuesday.

“The JCC can greatest ship on its mandate with the complete and lively participation of all 4 delegations,” the centre stated in a press release.

It stated the UN Coordinator for the deal, Amir Abdulla, was working intently with Turkish officers “to renew full participation” on the centre.