Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo said he hoped the suspension of the grain deal was a “temporary measure” and that it would not affect food prices in Europe.
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On Monday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the grain deal on Monday is terminated, as soon as its Russian part is completed, Russia will immediately return to its implementation.
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“I hope not, because the countries that could be affected by this are mostly poor countries, they have nothing to do with what is happening in Europe … I still hope that this is a temporary measure and we will be able to resume it as soon as possible. UN Secretary General Guterres is making a lot of personal efforts for this, I hope to resume it soon,” De Croo said, answering a question from journalists.
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Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, said that the obligations to remove obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizers had not been fulfilled. Putin during the conversation stressed that the main goal of the deal, namely the supply of grain to countries in need, including on the African continent, has not been realized.
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In early June, the EU extended until September 15 restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to a number of countries of the Union. It was reported that, according to the decision, free circulation of products is allowed only in EU member states, with the exception of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. We are talking about wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds. At the end of March, the prime ministers of a number of EU countries turned to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with a request to intervene in the crisis caused by the influx of grain from Ukraine.
