Ahead of G20 Leaders, President Zelensky Expects Extended Black Sea Grain Export Deal

Secretary General of the Interntional Maritime Organization (IMO) Kick Lim while reviewing the seeds to be exported from Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/International Maritime Organization)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that the soon-to-be-expired Black Sea grain deal will be extended while attending the G20 summit in Bali online Tuesday.

Officially known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the deal was made by Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey in July.

The deal ensures food exports blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships can be shipped out.

The United Nations says since the deal began, 10 million tonnes of grain and other food have been exported, preventing a global food crisis. But the deal expires on November 19.

Speaking Tuesday at the G20 session on food and energy security, President Zelensky said the deal should be extended indefinitely, "no matter when the war ends".

"The right to food is a fundamental right of every person in the world", he said, proposing to extend the deal to other ports in the Mykolaiv region.

Meanwhile, Russia on Saturday said there had been no agreement to extend it.

In exchange for allowing Ukraine to deliver food, Moscow insisted that Western sanctions be lifted, so that Russia could export its own food and fertilizers to world markets without any hindrance.

Late last month, Russia suspended the deal by several days, saying it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships crossing the Black Sea after attacks on its fleet.

Citing Reuters, President Putin said Ukrainian drones had been using the same sea corridor, with grain ships transiting under the UN-brokered deal.

Meanwhile, Kyiv denies using the wheat program security corridor for military purposes. The United Nations said no grain ships were using the Black Sea route when Russia said its ships in Crimea were under attack.

After a four-day suspension, Russia resumed the grain export deal, saying it had secured assurances from Ukraine.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov expressed his gratitude for the role played by President Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Along with the United Nations, Turkey is known to resume grain exports, when Russia suspended the deal.

Yesterday, President Joko Widodo appreciated Turkey's role in reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which ensures the safety of merchant ships exporting grain from Ukraine.