It has been long-rumored that Turkey was interested in brokering a deal between Russia and Ukraine to get grain exports out of the invaded country. This was causing concern because the ports have all been mined, and it is keeping Russia from completely taking them over. Worries are that Russia would go charging in as soon as possible and violate any deal.
There may also be other fallouts from such a deal. Primarily, what would this do to Turkey?s image in the global view? Brokering a deal to get wheat and other grains to feed the populace is a noble effort, but what about the chance that it is helping the Russians profit off Ukraine?s grain that may have already been stolen? If it hasn?t been stolen already, will Ukraine get the profits that could help them in the war?
The biggest question is how well can we trust Putin? His word has been worth somewhere between nothing and bupkis since this all began.
For better or worse, a deal was announced on Thursday which sent grains into a slump. If Ukraine?s grain did enter the market, it would certainly take some pressure off. However, there were still too many question marks. Would this help end the blockade of Ukrainian ports like Odesa? State Department Spokesman Ned Price had this to say:
The most important thing to do in this agreement is to hold Russia accountable.
The blockade has been designed to cause global food supply worries which would force the West into dropping war-related sanction, which has not even been considered an option.
Hopes were high that this might be the first step on the path to a peace movement between Ukraine and its aggressor. However, this morning we learned from Allendale?s Greg McBride that Putin?s word since this deal was announced has been worth even less than nothing.
This has caused the markets to take back the losses from Friday. It also adds more question marks to what happens next. If nothing else, anything Putin says could be used to end the fertilizer crisis around the globe.
