Ukraine must stop using grain deal corridor for terrorist attacks: Russian lawmaker

MOSCOW

The Ukraine grain deal cannot be revived as long as that humanitarian corridor is used for “terrorist attacks” on Russian ships, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Tuesday.

“The use of the security corridor for terrorist attacks on ships of the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet is unacceptable. There can be no grain deal on the previous terms,” Vyacheslav Volodin, head of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said on Telegram.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement on July 22 in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.

This past Saturday, Russia suspended its participation in the deal following attacks on its Black Sea Fleet.

Volodin said Moscow gave Kyiv “the opportunity to export grain ... to the most needy countries in Africa and Asia.”

However, these countries got no more than 4% of the total exported volume, and most of it went to wealthy countries in the EU, he added.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday that Moscow will continue to take part in efforts to revive the grain deal.

He told an online conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that Moscow was “forced to suspend” its participation, and will continue dialogue with the UN and Türkiye on its resumption.