This isn't the first time Russia has backed out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The U.N.'s Guterres pushed back against those claims in a press conference Monday, saying Russia's grain trade had 'reached high export volumes' and its fertilizer markets were 'stabilizing' under policies laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the U.N. While food and fertilizers are not under sanctions, Russia says sanctions-related restrictions on its banking, transit and insurance make trade untenable. Moscow has been unhappy with the deal since its inception, saying that it failed to deliver on a promise to free up Russian agricultural exports that have been blocked by Western sanctions.

The deal was set to expire on Sunday, but reports of a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who brokered the deal, suggested Putin was entertaining the idea of an extension.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the agreement had 'ceased to be valid' as of Monday.

Secretary-General António Guterres called the deal 'a beacon of hope' when it was signed last summer. Known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the agreement reached last July allowed for international shipments of corn, wheat, barley and other food products from three designated ports in Ukraine, which has been nicknamed the 'breadbasket of Europe.'Įxperts say the deal - while imperfect - has helped stave off a worsening of global hunger and prevented a surge in food prices worldwide.

Russia is refusing to extend a U.N.-backed deal that has allowed Ukraine to export grain and other food items during the ongoing invasion.

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