NATO-Ukraine Council condemns Russia's withdrawal from grain deal, declares solidarity with Kiev

BRUSSELS. July 26 (Interfax) - The NATO headquarters in Brussels said on Wednesday that it would hold a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting at the level of permanent representatives to review the situation following Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia's decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine's agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend," NATO said in a statement.

"Russia continues to show utter disrespect for international law and for the people worldwide who depend on Ukrainian grain," the alliance's Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who chaired the meeting, was quoted in the statement as saying.

He declared NATO's solidarity with its Black Sea allies. "We will continue to protect one another, and we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes," Geoana said.

The statement issued following the council meeting also quoted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as saying, among other things, that "Russia's actions also pose substantial risks to the stability of the Black Sea region, which is of strategic importance to NATO." "Allies are stepping up support to Ukraine and increasing our vigilance. We remain ready to defend every inch of allied territory from any aggression," he said.

At the same time, the document said, "NATO and allies are stepping up surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones."

The statement welcomed "the continued efforts of Turkey to revitalize the grain deal, and the efforts of other allies, including Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the European Union and the United Nations to enable the continued export of Ukrainian grain by land and sea."

"Allies also made clear that they would continue to provide Ukraine with major military, economic, and humanitarian assistance," NATO said.