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Ukraine war
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Pope urges Russia to restore Black Sea grain deal: ‘a grave insult to God’

  • The grain deal that expired on July 17 had allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the ongoing war
  • Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war but has also sought to keep an open channel of communication with Moscow, with limited results

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Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican on March 8. He urged Russia to reverse its decision to abandon the Black Sea grain deal. Photo: AP
Reuters
Pope Francis on Sunday called on Russia to reverse its decision to abandon the Black Sea grain deal, under which it had allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the ongoing war.
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“I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, so that the Black Sea initiative may be resumed and grain may be transported safely,” Francis said during his weekly Angelus message.

Global wheat prices have spiked since Russia on July 17 quit the pact, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022, and began targeting Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure on the Black Sea and Danube River.

Addressing crowds in St Peter’s Square, the pope urged the faithful to continue praying “for martyred Ukraine, where war is destroying everything, even grain”, calling this “a grave insult to God”.

The leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics said “the cry of millions of brothers and sisters who are suffering from hunger is rising up to the sky”.

In a message on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the pope’s words.

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“The reaction of the world’s religious leaders to the Russian missile terror and destruction of Ukrainian agricultural products is extremely important to protect the whole world, and especially the peoples of Africa and Asia, who suffer the most from the threat of hunger, from a food crisis,” he wrote.

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