The Kremlin wants the European Union to ease sanctions against Russia and not just make promises or promises. However, government spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in Moscow that there is a considerable gap between the EU’s intentions and the actual steps the union takes.
According to her, “the short-sighted European sanctions” are the leading cause of the food crisis in the world.
She said this in response to the signing of an agreement announced in Turkey between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN. That should allow the export of Ukrainian grain from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea along safe sea routes. More than 20 million tons of grain in Ukraine cannot be exported because of the war in the country.
According to Ankara, envoys from Ukraine and Russia will sign the agreement in Istanbul on Friday afternoon in the presence of President Erdogan and UN chief António Guterres. However, the Turkish government, which has long championed this ‘Black Sea Initiative,’ has not disclosed the content of the agreements signed on Friday afternoon. There are also not many reports from Kyiv and Moscow about the solemn gathering in the 19th-century Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus Strait.
The broad lines have already trickled out of the previous negotiations. Shipping routes must be cleared of mines, and cargo ships’ cargoes must be inspected both when approaching, for example, the port of Odesa, and when they set sail, Russia does not abuse safe shipping routes for war purposes. The EU lifts trade sanctions against Russia that hinder its trade, mainly food exports. A UN coordination center will be established in Istanbul to carry out all tasks. There will be “mechanisms” to secure the entire shipping route to the Bosphorus.
