The US is reviewing Turkish and Indian proposals to get grain shipments moving through the Black Sea, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at an Oct. 31 news conference in Atlanta. Reuters reported that Rubio described growing international interest, though not necessarily momentum, in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy shipments by Russia and Ukraine.
One possible partial deal would halt attacks on Black Sea ships carrying grain and, in some cases, energy, Rubio said. India Today quoted him as saying Turkey and India had offered ideas for moving grain because the situation threatened global food security and, to some extent, energy security. Rubio distinguished that narrower goal from a settlement of the war: “We'd like to achieve it. It doesn't solve the war, but at least it solves a unique aspect of it,” he told reporters.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told Reuters she had spoken with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and her Indian counterpart about a limited Black Sea ceasefire and a moratorium on attacks on Ukraine's electrical infrastructure. She said Canada had been in significant, specific talks about a Black Sea ceasefire since the United Nations General Assembly in September. “We have to address these issues now as Ukraine approaches the winter,” she said. In Anand's assessment, Ukraine was fully engaged on the issue, but Russia had not shown willingness to move ahead.
