What to Expect From Today’s Ukraine-NATO Council Meeting

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will convene a meeting of the new Ukraine-NATO Council today, July 26, an event being held at the request of Kyiv.

The only topic on the agenda is the Black Sea Grain Deal which Russia pulled out of last week, before launching multiple missile attacks against the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

At the weekend, President Zelensky asked Stoltenberg to convene a meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council which first sat during the big NATO summit in Vilnius earlier this month.

“The parties will meet to hold consultations on the latest developments and discuss the transportation of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea,” NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu told dpa agency, DW reports.

The meeting will take place at the level of ambassadors.

During his daily address on July 22, Zelensky said the meeting would focus on overcoming the crisis situation in the Black Sea and ensuring the sustainable operation of the “grain corridor.”

“I spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg… about Russian aggressive steps in the Black Sea,” he said.

“Any destabilization in this region and the disruption of our export routes will mean problems with corresponding consequences for everyone in the world. The price crisis is the least of the possible consequences.”

Ukraine has previously said it would be ready to continue with grain exports from its southern ports following Moscow’s exit from the deal. Kyiv has called on the UN and neighboring countries to secure safe passage for cargo through joint patrols.

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The German chancellor spoke with Ukraine’s President before and after the call, but his message to Putin was not “coordinated” with Ukraine and its allies. Zelensky said Scholz opened “Pandora’s Box.”

Russia scuppered the Black Sea Grain Deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, pushing up global prices and depriving 400 million people worldwide of badly needed grain.

Moscow’s full-scale invasion last year saw Ukraine’s Black Sea ports blocked by warships until the agreement – brokered by the UN and Turkey and signed in July 2022 – allowed for the passage of critical grain shipments from the Ukrainian port of Odesa.