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Reuters reported that Kiev disrupted the deal supposed to guarantee the safety of navigation of civilian cargo ships in the Black Sea. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were launched with the mediation of Ankara. The deal was disrupted due to Ukraine at the last moment, before it was announced.
The parties were pushed to negotiate by the UN. According to sources of Reuters, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should announce the agreement on March 30, but the Ukrainian side refused at the last moment after two months of negotiations. The agreement was supposed to take effect on the day it was announced.
Kiev refused to sign the agreement without explaining the reasons, when the text of the document had already been agreed by the parties.
The agreement was reached in March “to ensure the safety of merchant shipping in the Black Sea,” and although Ukraine did not want to sign it officially, Kiev promised President Erdogan to announce it on March 30, the day before important regional elections in Turkey.
The text of the deal, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, reportedly says that Turkey “as part of its mediation efforts” has reached agreements with Ukraine and Russia “on ensuring the free and safe navigation of merchant ships in the Black Sea” in accordance with the Montreux Convention. According to this Convention, Ankara blocked the movement of military vessels through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits after the start of the Russian special military operation. In its turn, Russia refused to provide guarantees for the safety of navigation in the Black Sea after withdrawing from the grain deal in July last year.
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Kiev has been regularly insisting on the need to restore commercial shipping since the very beginning of the military operations. In July 2022, Russia and Ukraine signed a grain deal through the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations. Ukraine suffered considerable losses after exports by sea was thwarted. Earlier, while Moscow fulfilled its obligations under the grain deal, Kiev thwarted the deal using civilian vessels for attacks on the Russian territory. The gain deal also supposed the lifting of restrictions on access of Russian agricultural products to the world market (Memorandum of Understanding signed between Russia and the United Nations); but finally no restrictions were lifted. The Russian side admitted that it would return to the grain deal if its conditions were fulfilled.
Kiev is the only part interested in security of civilian navigation in the western waters of the Black Sea, but Zelensky is trying his best to thwart any agreements.
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