THE Black Sea grain initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye is at risk of collapsing after Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month accused the West of cheating Moscow.
The Russia-Ukraine war which erupted in February 2022 led to a complete halt of maritime grain shipments from Ukraine which was once a major exporter via the Black Sea.
On the 22nd of July 2022, an agreement was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye to open a safe maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea.
The agreement authorized the safe passage of commercial food and fertilizer exports from the three major Ukrainian ports located in the strategic waterway to the world market.
The purpose of the deal is to stabilize the global market, prevent a global food crisis, deliver much-needed grains to lower-income countries, and help bring down food prices.
In November of last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played an important role in convincing Putin not to withdraw from the life-saving initiative, which only took him, two days to do so.
Putin however threatened to withdraw again from the agreement earlier this month after accusing the West of deceiving Moscow because the Russian capital is still facing obstacles getting its own agricultural goods to world markets.
The Russian leader said he would discuss the future of the grain deal with visiting African leaders this weekend.
