Global Courant 2023-04-25 04:01:49
Russia insists on extending the grain deal, mediated by Turkey, for only 60 days, after objecting to barriers to its own exports.
Moscow said a number of conditions had to be met for Russia to extend it beyond May 18. (Reuters Archive)
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York that he offered a “way forward” on extending the Black Sea grain deal.
A spokesperson for the Secretary-General said on Monday that Guterres had given Lavrov “a letter to President Vladimir Putin outlining a proposed path for improving, extending and expanding the agreement.”
Since last July, an agreement has been in place allowing Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea after it was blocked during the conflict with Russia. Export is vital for world food security.
A similar letter was sent to Ukraine and Turkey, the other two signatories to the agreement.
The agreement, called the “Black Sea Grain Initiative”, was renewed for the second time on 19 March.
Instead of a 120-day renewal, Russia insisted on only a 60-day extension amid objections to the barriers to its own exports.
READ MORE: Türkiye: Talks underway to extend Black Sea grain deal
sanctions
Earlier this month, Moscow said a number of conditions had to be met for Russia to extend the deal beyond May 18.
There are no sanctions on Russia’s exports of food and fertilizer to global markets, but the problems are with secondary sanctions on banks as well as shipping and insurance companies.
The foreign ministry has prepared a list of conditions for the extension of the agreement, including allowing the Russian Ziraat Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to reconnect to the SWIFT payment system.
In the statement, it was stated that the supply of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services should also be restarted.
Guterres said he “noted the concerns raised by Russia” about fertilizers.
“We will examine the ideas (the Secretary-General) gave us on paper,” Lavrov said in a comment published by his ministry, adding that “not much progress has been made so far”.
READ MORE: Can Türkiye save Ukraine-Russia grain deal?
Source: TRTWorld and its agencies
