Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation said there were no prospects for extending the grain deal

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that there are no prospects for extending the grain deal. This was stated by the deputy head of the diplomatic department Sergei Vershinin.

“We don’t see them. But we continue, of course, consultations with UN representatives on both parts of those package agreements that were signed in July last year,” told Vershinin (quote from Interfax).

The grain deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN on the one hand and representatives of Russia and Ukraine on the other. Separate agreements were concluded with Moscow and Kiev: the first was for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, and the second was for assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. Moscow has repeatedly noted that the second part of the deal is not being implemented.

On May 17, the grain deal was extended for another two months. Russia insists on five “systemic” objectives of the deal, on which there is no progress: reconnecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, resuming supplies of spare parts for agricultural machinery, unblocking transport logistics and insurance, restoring the ammonia pipeline and unfreezing the assets of Russian companies. On May 18, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that if Russia’s conditions are not met, then “there is no question of any expansion of the” Black Sea initiative “in principle.

At the beginning of June Russia notified Joint Coordinating Center (JCC) in Istanbul on the decision to limit the registration of ships to the port of Yuzhny due to the lack of exports of Russian ammonia. On May 19, Reuters reported that Ukraine will consider the possibility of resuming the transit of Russian ammonia through its territory, provided that Russia expands the grain deal to a greater number of ports and goods. After that, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova saidthat the terms of the deal could not be extended.