The agreement to allow Ukraine to export grain during the war with Russia is about to expire : NPR

Bulk carrier ARGO I docked at the port of Odesa on April 10.

Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

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Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

Bulk carrier ARGO I docked at the port of Odesa on April 10.

Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

The United Nations-backed deal that allows Ukraine to export grain and other food items during Russia’s ongoing invasion is set to expire on Monday with no renewal plans announced.

Called the Black Sea Grains Initiative, agreement reached in July last year allowed international shipping of corn, wheat, barley and other food products from three designated ports in Ukraine, which is known as the “wheat bowl of Europe”.

Experts say the deal – while not perfect – helped prevent global hunger from worsening and prevent an increase in food prices around the world. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the agreement a “beacon of hope” when it was signed last summer.

Now its future is unclear. Russian President Vladimir Putin said part of an agreement to similarly ease exports from his country had not been satisfied.

According to the Kremlin, in a phone call with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, Putin said Russia still faces obstacles in exporting food and fertilizers, contrary to its obligations under the agreement. is to remove those barriers.

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who helped broker the deal, said on Friday that he believes Putin will extend the deal.

Erdogan told reporters that he spoke with the Russian president by phone and that he and Putin “have the same opinion” when it comes to extending the agreement, Deutsche Welle reports.

In the nearly a year since the deal was made, ships have made 1,003 voyages from three Ukrainian ports carrying a total of 32.8 million tons of grain and other food products, the United Nations announced. on Saturday.

45 countries have received grain shipments from Ukraine under this initiative. Asia accounted for 46% of imports, while 40% went to Western Europe, 12% to Africa and 1% to Eastern Europe.

A ship that left the port of Odesa early Sunday morning was the last to leave Ukraine in the final hours of the current deal, Reuters reported.

The agreement also allows the export of fertilizer from Ukraine, although none of it is shipped, the UN said.

In May, the parties agree to extend the agreement for another two months, although at the time Russia also complained that sanctions and other restrictions were hampering the country’s ability to trade.

NPR’s Peter Kenyon contributed reporting.