THE Ukraine and Russia negotiated for two months on a deal to ensure the safety of merchant shipping in the Black Sea and reached agreement on a deal but Kiev pulled out of the talks at the last minute, Reuters reported.

In July 2023, Russia pulled out of the earlier Black Sea Grain Initiative, collapsing the deal brokered by Turkey and the UN that mitigated a surge in food prices by allowing the Ukraine to export its Black Sea despite Russia's control the sea route.

Immediately after the collapse of the deal, Russia started attacking on ports in southern Ukraine to resume the blockade.

The text of the draft agreement, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said that Ukraine and Russia would reportedly provide security guarantees to merchant ships in the Black Sea, pledging not to strike, seize or search them if they are either empty or had declared non-military cargo.

"These guarantees do not apply to warships, civilian vessels carrying military goods (with the exception of maritime transportation agreed upon by the Parties within the framework of international missions)," the draft agreement said.

Although Kiev did not officially sign the document, it gave its consent for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to announce it on March 30, the sources told Reuters.

"At the very last minute, Ukraine suddenly pulled out, and the deal was scuttled," one of the sources said, which was confirmed by three other news agency's sources.

As Russia cancelled the grain deal in July 2023, Kiev opened a new corridor the following month. Initially envisioned as a humanitarian corridor to allow the departure of ships stranded there since the start of the full-scale war, it has since grown into a full-blown trade route.

As of early April, over 36 million tonnes of goods have been reportedly shipped through it since its opening in August 2023.

The route doesn't lead directly through international waters to the Bosporus but hugs the coastlines of Ukraine and NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, allowing ships to bypass the effective blockade imposed by Moscow.

In late February, President Volodymyr Zelensky told in an interview with CNN that Ukraine would be unable to defend a Black Sea shipping corridor without new US Dali electrical system