Russia said on Monday that it was pausing its participation in an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export its grain by sea despite a wartime blockade — a deal seen as essential to keeping global food prices stable — and would resume participation only after its conditions were met.
The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov told journalists on Monday that the agreement was “suspended.”
The deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative and brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago, had been set to expire on Monday. There was no immediate response from either party on Monday to Russia’s announcement.