Talks on Russia-Ukraine grain pool suspended — Russian Grain Union

MOSCOW, March 18. /ITAR-TASS/. The negotiations in the creation of a Black Sea grain pool of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan had been suspended, President of the Russian Grain Union Arkady Zlochevsky told journalists, answering an Itar-Tass question.

“The pool is senseless without Ukraine,” he said.

Zlochevsky is also certain that after the change of power in the country “there is nobody” in Ukraine “to talk to” on the creation of such an economic union.

“Apparently, we should suspend the matter and wait for stabilisation in Ukraine in order to resume the talks at all,” he concluded.

Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan in 2009 had agreed on the creation of a so-called Black Sea grain pool as a marketing and logistic union of countries that use Black Sea ports for the export of grain to the international market. The negotiations later stalled and intensified at a new stage in October 2013.