Russia blocks Ukrainian exports to choke economy
Russia is blocking Ukrainian exports of grain in an effort to choke the country's economy, according to Marin Gherman, director of the Institute for Political Studies and Social Capital in Chernivtsi. He told Radio Moldova that if the problem is not resolved in the coming months, Kiev will face a serious economic crisis and the global transportation system could collapse.
"Exporting grain was very important for the structure of the Ukrainian national economy, and that's why Russia wanted to block any Ukrainian exports, to leave it without economic oxygen, to leave it absolutely dependent on the West, and at the same time to tire the West and make it stop supporting it. To attract grain to itself and export as much grain as possible from Russia, while the Ukrainian grain is blocked. There are a number of consequences for Kiev, which means the normal functioning of the economy. So, for Ukraine, a catastrophe awaits if all these processes are not resolved in the coming months. Another year of harvest is coming, the customs will be blocked again, and we will have a collapse in the transportation system," Gherman explained.
The resumption of the agreement on the export of grain to the Black Sea, negotiated by Turkey and the United Nations, from which Russia unilaterally withdrew last month, is important for Ankara, according to political analyst Mihai Isac from Bucharest. According to him, Turkey is still trying to play the role of mediator between the two sides, which would give it a global boost in prestige.
"Turkey is directly interested in the resumption of this grain traffic because the Turkish economy is involved in this traffic. Many Turkish shipowners use their ships to transport these grains and therefore earn various sums of money. Turkey is still trying to play the role of mediator between the two sides. We must understand that Erdogan should be the one to bring peace between the two sides. So, it would be a blow to prestige both at regional and global level and would fit into the process of transforming Turkey into a regional power," Isac said.
It is worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Turkey by the end of this month, and he is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara aims to convince Russia to return to the agreement on Black Sea grain, which was recently abandoned by the Kremlin and allowed Ukraine to export its agricultural products through Black Sea ports.
After withdrawing from the grain agreement, Russia attacked several Ukrainian ports, in response, Kiev announced that Russian ships and ports in the Black Sea have become legitimate targets of the Ukrainian army.
