What is the essence of the Black Sea deal? Answers to the main questions

Russia has agreed with the United States to comply with the so-called Black Sea Initiative, which ensures the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. It is essentially a renewal of the grain deal that was mediated by Turkey and the United Nations in 2022-2023. The agreement will begin to be implemented after a number of sanctions against the Russian agricultural sector are lifted. What this deal is is in the Izvestia article.

What have Russia and the United States agreed on?

• On March 24, Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of expert groups from Russia and the United States, at which the Russian side was represented by Grigory Karasin, Head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, and Sergey Beseda, Adviser to the FSB Director. The central topic of the meeting was the resumption of the Black Sea initiative.

• The following day, the parties announced the agreements reached. The Kremlin reported that Russia and the United States agreed to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, not to use force and not to allow the use of commercial vessels for military purposes, for which appropriate control measures will be organized through the inspection of such vessels.

• In response, the United States has committed to help restore access to the global market for Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers, reduce the cost of shipping insurance, and expand access to ports and payment systems for commercial transactions.

Under what conditions will the deal be resumed?

• The White House confirmed what was said in the Kremlin following the talks, but did not specify under what conditions the Black Sea initiative would enter into force. The first of these is the lifting of sanctions against Rosselkhoznadzor and other banks involved in international trade in food and fertilizers, their connection to the SWIFT financial information transfer system and the opening of necessary correspondent accounts.

For the parties' reasons: the Russian Federation and the United States have made progress in the "Black Sea Initiative"

It became known what Moscow and Washington agreed on during 12-hour consultations in Riyadh.

• It also requires the lifting of restrictions on trade finance operations, on the work of insurance companies with food and fertilizer shipments, as well as sanctions against manufacturing and exporting companies. It is especially noted that food means not only grain crops, but also fish products.

• In order to resume the Black Sea Initiative, it is necessary to lift restrictions on ship service in ports, lift sanctions on merchant vessels flying the Russian flag, and lift the ban on the supply of agricultural machinery and other goods necessary for food and fertilizer production to Russia.

• According to Karasin, these conditions were announced to the American side during the negotiations, and the United States "reacted calmly to this." However, specific deadlines for connecting Russian banks to SWIFT were not discussed, as well as methods for monitoring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.

What do they think in Ukraine and in Europe?

• The United States also discussed the Black Sea deal with Ukraine during the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The outcome of the meeting was that the parties agreed to ensure safe navigation, exclude the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.

• The European Union and the United Kingdom refused to lift their sanctions, which are listed in the list of conditions for the entry into force of the Black Sea Initiative. Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called this position unwillingness to "follow the path of peace" and follow the agreements between Moscow and Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that most of the sanctions were indeed imposed by the European Union and are within its competence.

What was the previous deal?

• The organization of safe navigation on the Black Sea began to be discussed back in 2022. The most important routes for the supply of agricultural products from both Russia and Ukraine pass through it. In order not to compromise the world's poorest countries, which depend on grain and fertilizer supplies, a so-called "grain deal" was concluded with the participation of Turkey and the United Nations.

• Officially, this agreement was called the "Initiative for the Safe Transportation of Grain and food from Ukrainian Ports." It was concluded between Ukraine, Turkey and the UN on the one hand, and Russia, Turkey and the UN on the other. The two agreements were signed on July 22, 2022 and were initially set for 120 days.

• The essence of the grain deal was that a safe corridor was created for the export of grain, food and fertilizers from the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny to the Bosphorus Strait. Representatives of Turkey and the United Nations were supposed to monitor the loading, and Russia pledged to ensure the safety of navigation.

• The Joint Coordination Center (JCC), composed of five representatives from each of the parties, was supposed to check merchant vessels at the entrance and exit from the Black Sea. His tasks included registering ships, tracking their location, and checking for military and other unauthorized cargo.

Why did Russia withdraw from the first grain deal?

• The grain deal has been operational since August 1. It was extended twice for 120 days and twice more for 60 days. On July 17, 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry notified of the refusal to extend the deal, as it did not respect the interests of the Russian side. The ministry offered to fulfill a number of conditions for the resumption of the deal. These included the connection of the Rosselkhoznadzor to SWIFT, the resumption of agricultural machinery supplies, the lifting of restrictions on insurance and access to ports, the restoration of the Tolyatti—Odessa ammonia pipeline and the unblocking of accounts of Russian companies related to the production of food and fertilizers.

• The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the grain deal had turned from a humanitarian project into a commercial one. The majority of Ukrainian food was received not by the poorest countries, but by states with high and above average incomes. The top five countries that accepted shipments under the deal included China, Spain, Turkey, Italy and the Netherlands.