MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. Ethiopia understands that the Russian part of the Black Sea Initiative has not been implemented, the republic's Ambassador to Russia Cham Ugala Uriat said in an interview with TASS.
"I think those who make an agreement have to respect the agreement and make sure that the terms of the agreement are respected. So there's no question if Russia felt that its term was not met, you can decide not to be part of this one. It's understandable," he said.
Many people in the world are affected by food security problems due to the conflict in Ukraine, "when the [transport] routes are closed," the diplomat said, adding that Ethiopia is affected as well as it "is part of the world."
Moreover, "the deal was meant for the poor countries to get food, but 70% of the Ukrainian wheat was going to rich countries in the West, in Europe especially," while "African nations didn't get maybe 3% of the grain going to Africa, so this is not good at all," he stressed.
Speaking about the meeting between Russian and Turkish leaders, Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, which was held in Sochi, he noted that the grain deal was one of the topics discussed and expressed hope that a solution on the Black Sea Initiative would be found "very soon."
"If all the conditions of the agreement are met for Russia and Ukraine, and grain and fertilizers go to the world market, I think African nations, including Ethiopia, will benefit from it," the ambassador pointed out.
The Black Sea Initiative grain deal was a set of agreements reached in Istanbul in July 2022 for ensuring a safe corridor for ships carrying Ukrainian grain as well as Russian agricultural exports. After several extensions, it was terminated starting July 18 at Russia’s initiative when Moscow notified Turkey, Ukraine and the UN of its objections to further extending the deal. Putin pointed out earlier that the Russia-related provisions of the deal were never implemented, despite the United Nations’ efforts, and the bulk of Ukrainian grain exports had gone to wealthy Western countries, contrary to the original intent of the deal to provide grain to needy countries, particularly in Africa.