NATO slams Russia’s ‘dangerous’ Black Sea grain block

NATO expressed its condemnation of Russia’s “dangerous” attempts to obstruct Ukrainian grain exports in the Black Sea on Wednesday after holding urgent talks with Kiev in response to Moscow’s departure from a UN-backed agreement.

NATO slams Russia’s ‘dangerous’ Black Sea: “Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports, on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend,” read a statement from NATO.

“They also condemned Russia’s recent missile attacks on Odesa, Mykolaiv, and other port cities, including Moscow’s cynical drone attack on the Ukrainian grain storage facility in the Danube port city of Reni, which is very close to the Romanian border.”

The 31-nation alliance said that a Russian warning to ships in the area covered NATO member Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and “created new risks for miscalculation and escalation”.

Kyiv requests that NATO integrate Ukrainian defence while securing the Black Sea

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that “Russia bears full responsibility for its dangerous and escalating actions in the Black Sea region.”

“Russia’s activities also significantly increase the risk to the stability of the Black Sea region, which is crucial to NATO’s strategy. In addition to stepping up their assistance for Ukraine, allies are doing so.

The new NATO-Ukraine Council, which President Volodymyr Zelensky established during the alliance’s summit this month in Lithuania, held its second meeting on Wednesday.

After Moscow unilaterally withdrew from the agreement last week to secure Ukraine’s exports through the Black Sea, Kyiv convened the discussions.

The council allows Ukraine the ability to request meetings to discuss matters of mutual concern and aims to strengthen political connections between NATO and Kyiv.

Despite Zelensky’s urging, NATO leaders at the meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, declined to provide Ukraine a timeline for joining the alliance as a full member.

NATO applauded Turkey, an alliance member, for trying to revive the Black Sea agreement, as well as the UN and EU for trying to keep agricultural powerhouse Ukraine’s produce flowing out of the country.

In the Black Sea region, NATO stated it is “increasing surveillance and reconnaissance, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones.”

In order to strengthen their presence in the Black Sea, NATO partners have been eager to do so.

Turkey, though, has been apprehensive of allowing the rest of the US-led coalition to exercise excessive influence in the region since it controls access between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.