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Written by Eric Zuesse
On Saturday, March 4th, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at the G20 meeting in Delhi, announced that because the EU has refused to comply with its side of the U.N.-brokered 27 July 2022 “Grain [and fertilizer] Deal” that the U.N. brokered in Istanbul on 27 July 2022, Russia will likewise not comply with it, starting on March 18th.
On February 8th, Reuters had headlined “Russia: EU not fulfilling promises on grain deal”, and reported that the deal was in jeopardy because of the EU’s continued violations of it that were supplying super-inexpensive food to the EU while continuing to block food going to Africa — for which latter purpose the deal had been mainly designed.
Then, on Saturday March 4th, Russia’s Tsargrad news site headlined “THE REJECTION OF THE GRAIN DEAL WILL FORCE RUSSIA TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE OF ODESSA. AND THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT EVENT.” By implication, it was interpreting Lavrov’s statement to reflect that Ukraine’s main Black Sea port of Odessa (which has historically been overwhelmingly pro-Russian), which is the port through which Ukraine’s agricultural exports are shipped, might soon be taken over by Russia, because the EU’s using it to provide economic benefits to the EU and to Ukraine while starving and/or soaring food-cost inflation in Africa, will no longer continue to be tolerated by Russia. In other words: Africa — and Russia were being cheated by the EU and Ukraine, and will cease that, starting March 18th.
On March 3rd, Tsargrad had bannered “AMMONIA INSTEAD OF WHEAT. WHAT WILL RUSSIA GAIN BY BREAKING THE “GRAIN DEAL”, and it explained that:
The grain deal, about the need for which “our Western partners” spoke so much, can be terminated without any possibility of renewal in the near future. If this happens, then Ukraine will lose the opportunity to earn money on dumped wheat exports, Turkey will lose a fair amount of profits from participating in the transit of this grain and a fair amount of political influence as an intermediary between Russia and its opponents. The European Union will lose a significant part of the grain in its market – the very one that it had promised the poorest African countries would be the deal’s primary beneficiaries, but which turned out to be much more necessary for EU bakers and confectioners, instead of gto Africans who need bread and fertilizers.
In general, it will be bad for everyone. Except Russia. Russia will not lose anything, because it didn’t gain anything from the deal.
If Russia takes over Odessa, then Ukraine could very well become an entirely land-locked country, without its only sea-access, which now is via Odessa. The EU and Ukraine would have — by their refusals to comply with the grain deal — considerably increased that likelihood (which would harm the longer-term interests both of Ukraine and the EU).
In any case, the status of Odessa is now going to be a far more important issue in this war that it had been until now. It will no longer be an issue for Africa, because the July 27th deal didn’t benefit Africa at all (which it had been promised to do). Odessa will instead be purely an issue between Ukraine and Russia.
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s new book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.
Here we go with that “westerns partners” bullshit again. Wha really wrong with them retarded Russians? They don’t like you! They want you dead and gone, and you’re in denial calling them “partners”. Stupid.
Half of them were educated in the west
A western education is nothing to brag about.. Half the youth in Australia can barely read. (Although they will make good cannon fodder)Bring back 6 of the best, they might pay attention
Do you know the concept of sarcasm?
Taking Odessa will put the last nail in Zelenskyy’s coffin.
Nato-EU never hold up their end of any bargain. Aks, Iran or Serbia, or anyone really.
The shithole american brokered deal with hohol grains full of Monsanto, DuPont & other imperialist hellholes, pesticides, GMO’s and toxins reach the spanish pig farms and not the Afrikan world ! In fact it’s a gain for those poor peoples to not be poisoned with unregulated and unverified cereals letting the proud european idiots to use them ! Stopping by striking those shipments in strategic ‘waters’ will be a bull-eye for the russian agenda. Only 1 sunk in bandera fascist Bastroe Danube channel and all amerikaka plans for a light naval base in Danube Delta will be erased. Also, Russia should send some gifts to Snake Island soon.
Eric RF hadn’t taken Bakhmut despite 9 months of effort. And you think it can just “take” Odessa? Your hallucinations are fully out of control.
RF warships will hopefully enact a naval blocade. No need to “take” Odessa.
Russia won’t bomb Odessa to much. But she’s going home
They haven’t “taken ” at what speed you want them to numbskull , because they don’t want to wipe out civilian innocents . Unlike the Bandera loving western bootlicking whores that are Ukrainians , Russia actually cares about civilian casualties.
amerikan inferior species stupid; Bakhmut is perfect trap to decimate demoralize and humiliate impotent amerikans…..vashi zasranets smeshnoy
Odessa is the key to the future of security in the entire rump Ukraine wasteland.
Onward to Odessa a Russian city since 1794 thanks to the kraut queen Catherine. History matters even if you are a Natostan imbecile and an angloZionaZi scumbag.
Z all the way to the rotten heart of Berlin (again) and the BrUSsels, EUSSR cesspool if that’s what it takes.