Russia will again participate in the Black Sea grain deal, the Russian Defense Ministry said . The department said that they received "written guarantees from Ukraine not to use the 'grain corridor' for military operations."
“The Ukrainian side officially assured that the maritime humanitarian corridor will be used only in accordance with the provisions of the Black Sea Initiative and the related regulation on the Joint Coordination Center. <…> Russia believes that the guarantees received at the moment appear to be sufficient, and is resuming initiatives for the safe transportation of grain and food from the ports of Ukraine, ”the Ministry of Defense reports.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the export of grain through the humanitarian corridor has already resumed – from 12:00 Moscow time. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said this to the head of the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Russia stopped participating in the grain deal only a few days ago, on October 30: President Vladimir Putin said that Kyiv allegedly used the “grain corridor” to strike ships in Sevastopol.
On November 1, Putin, in a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, named two conditions for Russia to return to the grain deal: an investigation into the attack on ships of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and obtaining guarantees from Kyiv not to use the humanitarian corridor for military purposes.
After that, Turkey announced that Turkish dry cargo ships would continue to export food from Ukraine and Russia's decision to withdraw from the grain deal would not affect the transportation of grain.