Lavrov discussed with the UN Secretary General the possibility of resuming the grain deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with UN Secretary General António Guterres on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, discussing with him Moscow’s conditions for the resumption of the grain deal. About it reported on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

“In response to a question from the UN Secretary-General about the prospects for resuming the Black Sea Initiative, S. V. Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s position, voiced by the President of Russia, about its readiness to return to participation in it only if all obligations to the Russian side are actually fulfilled,” the message says. .

The parties also discussed the activities of the UN and the importance of strengthening its role in global politics.

Earlier today, Lavrov said that Russia does not see the readiness of the West to comply with Moscow’s conditions for the resumption of the grain deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, said that in the coming months, Russia, as a priority humanitarian aid, will allocate 25,000-50,000 tons of grain to six African countries and deliver it free of charge.

On July 17, Russia left the Black Sea Initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin explained this by the failure to fulfill the second part of the agreement, which concerns, among other things, the lifting of restrictions on the supply of Russian products.

On August 3, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that if Moscow were to return to the grain deal, Washington would “continue to do whatever is necessary” to export food. In response, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the United States should facilitate the implementation of the grain deal, and not promise to “think about it.”