The grain delivery reversal by Russia indicates that Lavrov messaging alleging the NATO Block is using food to attack the third world no longer works

Yes, as the article suggested, that Russia threw in the towel on blocking Grain from Ukraine going to world markets. Yes the fact that the ships were on the way out with the grain , and that these would not be recalled

However, there is another side to it.

A. Lavrov messaged that the third world was going to be starved by grain delivery interference, from NATO among other actors for half a YEAR. In fact, this theme was pushed constantly in the Indian press by Russian agents, ditto the same in the Arab world and in East Africa

B. The U turn on the grain export arrangements not only is a reflection of profound WTF territory being reached, but is more to the point that what Moscow was doing was effectively underlying its rank hypocrisy as to the pushing A non stop for half a year

C. Most Arabic support for the Russian war in Ukraine came from countries which were at the knife edge already, but the withdraw from the Turkey brokered deal, was too much of a cross to bear. I.e. not believable

The fact is, that the Kremlin got caught with its pants down. I.e. what is going on, if properly pursued and not thrown away is an excellent narrative warfare fact which should be topic A of every diplomatic outreach to countries, internationally by the countries supporting Ukraine in this war

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Russia abandoned its plan to block food exports leaving Ukraine after ships ignored Putin and kept sailing anyway

Sophia Ankel ?13 hours ago

• Russia pulled out of its grain export deal with Ukraine over the weekend.
• But it made a sudden U-turn on Wednesday and said it would resume operations.?
• The grain export deal, brokered by Turkey and the UN, is vital to the global food supply.

Russia abandoned its plan to block food exports leaving Ukraine on Wednesday, after a convoy of ships ignored President Vladimir Putin and sailed out of Ukraine anyway.

Moscow, which suspended its participation in the deal over the weekend, said in a?statement on Wednesday ,?that it will resume operations again because it received assurances from Ukraine that it would not use the sea corridor for military purposes.

"Thanks to the involvement of the international organization, as well as the assistance of Turkey, we managed to obtain necessary written guarantees from Ukraine not to use the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports ... for military actions against the Russian Federation," the statement said.?

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who helped broker the deal along with the UN, said Russia also told Turkey that operations would kick off again as of midday on Wednesday,?Reuters reported.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The landmark grain deal between Moscow and Kyiv,?which was brokered in July,? was designed to keep agricultural products, including grain, moving out of Ukraine, which is a major food producer, amid the war.

But over the weekend,?Russia said it would stop its involvement in the deal ?for an "indefinite term" after what it said was a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian naval ships in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.

Without providing evidence, Russian officials said it could not "guarantee the safety of civilian ships" after the attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move "rather predictable,"?the BBC reported.

But despite the country's withdrawal, a UN official?said Tuesday ?that they would press ahead with their plans to let authorized ships leave Ukraine.

On Tuesday, three cargo ships carrying corn, wheat, and sunflower oil were tracked leaving Ukrainian ports and traveling toward Istanbul, Ismini Palla, a UN spokeswoman?told The New York Times , adding that Moscow had been notified of the departures.

Around 40% of the world's wheat supplies come from Ukraine, which is?often referred to ?as the "breadbasket of Europe."

The agreement is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict, The Guardian?reported, ?as food from Ukraine is exported around the world, including to drought-stricken nations as part of relief programs.

The World Food Programme warned earlier this year that Russia's invasion could result in a?"hunger catastrophe" ?if such a food export deal was not struck.

The head of the European Council in June also accused Russia's troops of burning Ukrainian fields and stealing wheat, compounding food shortages.

End of quote

Andrew Beckwith, PhD