Guterres expressed regret over the termination of the grain deal by Russia

UN Secretary-General António Guterres regrets Russia’s decision to withdraw from the grain deal. This was stated by the Secretary General at a meeting with journalists, writes TASS.

“I deeply regret the decision of the Russian Federation to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea initiative, including the withdrawal of Russian guarantees for the safety of navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” he said.

He noted that by his decision, Russia “put an end to its obligations to facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil and fertilizers from Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea ports.”

July 17 Russian Foreign Ministry declaredthat Russia is pulling out of the grain deal. This includes the withdrawal of guarantees for the safety of navigation, the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, the disbanding of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul and the restoration of the regime of a temporarily dangerous area in the northwestern Black Sea.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov specified that its action is terminated, since the Russian part of the deal is not being fulfilled. At the same time, Moscow is ready to return to the implementation of the agreements as soon as its conditions are met.

The grain agreement was concluded on July 22, 2022 between representatives of Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian part of the deal implies the unhindered export of grain from the ports of Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, the Russian part – easing restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. Since then, the agreement has been repeatedly extended, and the last agreement was reached in May.