Ukrainian business and the state suffer from losses as a result of interruptions in the functioning of the grain humanitarian corridor. The announced negotiations on the extension of the “grain” agreement were postponed to the current week.

Why is Russia procrastinating with concrete answers regarding the grain initiative, explains Deputy Chairman of the UAC Denys Marchuk:

"Negotiations with the Russian Federation regarding «grain agreement» were disrupted on May 3 and also on May 5. It is futile to hope that we will hear anything concrete this week. Russia is delaying negotiations, possibly until the presidential elections in Turkey. The aggressor country actually imposes its demands: it promotes the lifting of sanctions against Rosselkhozbank in order to be able to trade with the whole world. Therefore, the Russian Federation is now probing to what extent other countries are ready to make concessions. Another demand of the aggressor is to enable the export of ammonia through the Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline. Russia is seeking to thwart a counteroffensive in the direction of Luhansk region, where the pipeline runs, because any outbreak could cause environmental damage, as ammonia is an explosive chemical. Until a compromise is reached in relation to the Russian Federation, which it is carving out for itself, we will not receive a concrete answer when the humanitarian corridor will be fully operational in the context of the grain agreement."

The Black Sea grain initiative can work without the Russian Federation.

"Such experience was in November, when the Russian Federation withdrew from the grain agreement. But Ukraine has its own agreements with Turkey and the UN. At that time, Turkey insisted that the humanitarian corridor would work without the Russian Federation, and, indeed, inspections on the Bosphorus took place promptly. To what extent Turkey will be ready for such actions after the presidential elections, we will see. For now, ships with Ukrainian grain will go by sea from time to time until May 18, but after this date we will actually become dependent on the Russian fleet. Because the Russian Federation's statements have already led to traders not contracting Ukrainian products for mid-May. We can take out the temporary stocks via the Paths of Solidarity, but in 2 months the harvest will start, and the new harvest will have to be exported across the Black Sea. Without access to the sea, the agricultural sector and the country as a whole will remain without an inflow of foreign exchange earnings, because more than 70% of Ukrainian exports are agricultural products," added Denys Marchuk.