As grain deal nears deadline on July 17, U.S. appeals to India to use ‘unique voice’ with Russia

With the clock ticking on the Black Sea Grain Initiative deal’s extension this month, the U.S. envoy to Ukraine appealed to India on Wednesday to use its influence with Russia to ensure that grain exported from Ukraine isn’t blocked.

With the clock ticking on the Black Sea Grain Initiative deal’s extension this month, the U.S. envoy to Ukraine appealed to India on Wednesday to use its influence with Russia to ensure that grain exported from Ukraine isn’t blocked. The initiative, which was mediated by Turkey last year, after Ukrainian and Russian ships were stopped from carrying wheat exports out of the Black Sea due to the war, is set to expire on July 17. The urgency of renewing the deal is also likely to come up as Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Europe next week, to attend France’s national day parade.

“India’s leaders have a unique voice to stand up for developing countries and encourage the continuation and the expansion of the Black Sea Grain Initiative to ensure people around the world can access food they desperately need,” said U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, taking questions in an online press conference organised for Indian journalists, adding that the deal could collapse just as the new harvest was being prepared in war-torn Ukraine. 

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, prior to the war, Russia and Ukraine together ranked among the top global exporters of wheat, barley, maize and vegetable oils. 

Last year, Turkey brokered a deal facilitated by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that agreed to allow both countries to continue to export the grains. However, Russia has consistently complained that its ship exports are still being blocked, and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned on Tuesday that it has “no grounds” for a further extension after it agreed to one extension for two months in May 2023. 

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“The situation around normalising Russian food and fertilizer supplies to world markets, which is stipulated by the Russia-United Nations Memorandum, has continued to deteriorate,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Under these conditions, it is clear that there are no grounds for a further extension of the Black Sea Initiative, which expires on July 17,” it said, adding that it will try to ensure that all ships under the initiative leave the Black Sea before July 17.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the U.S., Ms. Brink said that India and the U.S. shared belief in principles of “sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and that the U.S. “hoped” to find commonality on their policies towards the war in Ukraine.