Russia demands guarantees that Ukraine will not use the Black Sea humanitarian corridor “for military purposes”

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Nov. 1 () –

The Russian authorities have demanded this Tuesday from Ukraine a guarantee that it will not use the humanitarian corridor through the Black Sea, planned for the transfer of grain from Ukrainian ports, “for military purposes.”

This was stated by the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Vershinin, during a meeting with the Turkish ambassador in Moscow, Mehmet Samsar, according to the Russian diplomatic portfolio in a statement.

“During the meeting, key areas of Russian-Turkish cooperation on international platforms were discussed, mainly the Black Sea initiative for the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” reads the Russian foreign statement.

Turkey has stood out in recent months, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, for having led efforts to unblock the export of food from Ukrainian ports, and played a crucial role in the agreement reached on this between the parties, with United Nations mediation.

This same Tuesday it has been reported that three ships loaded with grain have left from Ukrainian ports, despite the fact that Russia has broken an agreement that Turkey is now trying to revive, with high-level contacts already planned with both kyiv and Moscow.

The agreement has allowed the export of almost 10 million tons since July, but Russia declared it broken last weekend in retaliation for an attack on its fleet in the Black Sea. Ukraine, Turkey and the UN decided to go ahead with the shipments, even though Russia has warned that there are now no security guarantees.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to speak “in the coming days” with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelensky, respectively. Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, hopes to “overcome” the current crisis, to the extent that the agreement “benefits everyone”, according to the newspaper ‘Hurriyet’.

The UN relied on this pact to improve food security worldwide, to the extent that the outbreak of the conflict in February resulted in a break in the supply chain and a rise in prices that has particularly affected developing countries.