Russia had accepted all of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s requests regarding the Black Sea Initiative, but Ukraine repeatedly backed out at the last moment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Channel One Russia.
Lavrov recalled that Erdoğan had attempted several times to revive the deal in a simplified form, allowing ships returning empty after unloading grain and fertilizers to bypass physical inspections.
“At the last moment, Erdoğan mentioned that [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky wanted an additional agreement to prevent strikes on nuclear infrastructure—even though only Zelensky himself had targeted the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Still, since Kiev made the request, we agreed to it, without insisting on strict verification mechanisms. Essentially, we accepted all of Erdoğan’s requests, including one that Zelensky slipped in at the last minute. We said yes, but then Erdoğan called [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and said, ‘You know, Zelensky changed his mind,’” Lavrov stated.
The Black Sea Initiative, often referred to as the grain deal, was designed to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports while ensuring Russian agricultural products and fertilizers could reach global markets. However, the agreement fell apart as the majority of Ukrainian grain ended up in Western countries rather than being delivered to nations in need. Meanwhile, commitments made to Russia were not honored, leading Moscow to withdraw from the deal in July 2023.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on TASS materials