MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday that it would renew its participation in an agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea, just four days after suspending its role in the deal.

Moscow had pulled out at the weekend, saying it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships crossing the Black Sea because of a drone attack on its fleet there.

“The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

The U-turn followed a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turk­ish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, and after consultations between their defence ministers.

“This is quite an unexpected turnarou­nd,” said Andrey Sizov, head of the Russia-focused Sovecon agriculture consultancy.

After the phone call, President Putin said Russia reserved the right to withdraw from the deal again. But if they did so, however, Putin said it would not impede shipments of grain from Ukraine to Turkiye.

Moscow had on Saturday pulled out of the arrangement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, saying it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships crossing the Black Sea because of a drone attack on its fleet there.

Putin affirmed the receipt of the commitments, and said that if Russia withdrew once more because of Ukrainian breaches, it would substitute the entire volume of grain destined for the “poorest countries” for free from its own stocks.

But, in a nod to Turkiye’s influence, as well as what he called its “neutrality” in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, he added: “In any case, we will not in the future impede deliveries of grain from Ukrainian territory to the Turkish Republic.”

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2022