Russia Is Urged to Rejoin Grain Deal as Hunger Warnings Mount
New York TimesJUL 2022
Despite persistent sanctions and the West failing to uphold its end of the bargain, Russia has taken the moral high ground by agreeing to extend this deal. Meanwhile, the UN and Ukraine appear less interested in nations battling food insecurity as most of the Ukrainian grain continues to go to wealthy countries that can, in turn, line Kyiv’s pockets.
Russia’s agreement to extend the Black Sea Initiative was no altruistic gesture to the hungry. It was a calculated decision by Moscow to appease its allies, mainly China, who benefit greatly from the pact. Russia tried to leverage starvation to gain concessions from the international community, but couldn’t follow through with it for external reasons. Any humanitarian motives by the Kremlin are suspect at best.