Ukraine, UN, Turkey press ahead with Black Sea grain deal; Russia demands more "security guarantees"

European Pravda reports that Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, announced The UN’s stance after the meeting of the Security Council.

"We firmly adhere to the opinion that the Black Sea Grain Initiative remains in force, despite the suspension of Russia's participation in it. Russia did not terminate the "grain agreement" and did not withdraw from it. The Russian Federation announced that it suspended its participation for an indefinite period. And, as a result of this, we continue through this initiative to dispatch vessels that are moving (from Ukraine) and to inspect these vessels with the help of Turkey and Ukraine," Griffiths added.

At the same time, Griffiths stated that the UN, as a mediator, continues to communicate with the Russian side to resolve the issues that it had raised. "The sooner we can fully restore Russia's participation, the better," he said.

Turkey holds a similar opinion, actually demanding that Russia upholds its commitments. During a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, Turkey's Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar emphasized the need to restore the functioning of the "grain corridor", reported Anadolu.

"It is expected that the [Russian] decision to suspend the grain export initiative, which needs to be held separately from the conditions of the conflict and is completely a humanitarian activity, is re-evaluated. The continuation of the grain initiative, which has greatly contributed to the solution of the global food crisis and demonstrated the possibility of solving existing problems through cooperation and dialogue, carries great importance," Akar noted.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed his full readiness to continue grain exports during a phone conversation with UN Secretary General António Guterres.

“Confirmed Ukraine's commitment to the Grain Deal. We're ready to remain a guarantor of food safety. Informed about the consequences of the missile terror and nuclear blackmail by the Russian Federation. The reaction of the world and the United Nations must be tough!” Zelenskyy shared on his Twitter.

In turn, Putin said that the reason for suspending Moscow's participation in the "grain deal" was a threat coming from Ukraine, and only in the case of security guarantees for Russia in the Black Sea, it may reconsider this decision.

"We are not saying that we are terminating our participation in this operation. No, we are saying that we are temporarily suspending it," Putin said at a press conference broadcast on the Kremlin's official website.

"The Secretary General of the UN was one of the initiators behind the initiative. And we are grateful to the UN employees who have been actively engaging in making the initiative work, of course. But they have to hold some talks with Ukraine so that Ukraine guarantees that there will be no threats to civilian ships and for Russia's supply ships,” he added.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense expressed similar expectations for Ukraine to take on "additional obligations not to use this route for military purposes."

In a conversation with his Turkish counterpart Çavuşoğlu, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Lavrov also emphasized the need to provide guarantees from Ukraine regarding the non-use of the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports designated for the export of agricultural products to conduct hostilities against the Russian Federation.

In addition, he emphasized the need for the UN and Western countries to take additional measures to implement the package agreement regarding Russian fertilizers and agricultural products.

The UN immediately responded to Russia's accusations, noting that no civilian ship transporting grain through the "grain corridor" could have been involved in the attack on Russian warships, as it claims.

"The corridor just lines on a map: When Initiative vessels are not in the area, the corridor has no special status. It provides neither cover nor protection for offensive or defensive military action. It’s not a shield, it’s not a hideout, it’s not a no-go zone," Griffiths explained during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

Answering the question of Ukraine's possible use of a civilian ship as a cover for an attack on a Russian ship, Griffiths emphasized: "Coming to alleged misuse of cargo vessels in the Initiative for military purposes, none were in the corridor on the night of 29 October when the reported attacks took place.No vessel reported an incident over the weekend."

• On October 29, Russia announced that it was suspending participation in the "grain agreement" allegedly because of the "terrorist attack" in the Sevastopol Bay on Saturday, Oct. 29, morning. Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated that the targets of the attack in the Sevastopol Bay were ships of the Black Sea Fleet, which were allegedly involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor.

• NATO and the EU call on Russia to uphold its commitments within the "grain agreement". And Turkey announced it has "optimistic forecasts" regarding the negotiations with Russia.