Putin says he won’t renew the grain deal until the West meets his demands. The West says it has
Associated PressRussian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that a landmark deal allowing Ukraine to export grain safely through the Black Sea amid the war won’t be restored until the West meets Moscow’s demands on its own agricultural exports. Putin reiterated those complaints Monday, while also telling reporters that if those commitments were honored, Russia could return to the deal “within days.” Erdogan also expressed hope that a breakthrough could come soon. Putin is looking for some relief from sanctions and at the same time is engaged in a “war of narratives,” Dalay said, because the Russian leader “doesn’t want to come across as the bad guy in the eyes of the global south as a result of this food insecurity.” Ukraine and its allies have often noted that Russia’s move left many developing nations in the lurch, since so many were recipients of the grain. The U.S. has reason to think North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “expects these discussions to continue” and “to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” Watson said Monday.