Peskov called the prospects for extending the grain deal not very good

The state and prospects of the grain deal remain not very good, some of the agreements have not yet been fulfilled. Thus, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov assessed the situation with the grain deal.

“Nothing has changed. The President received a message from Guterres through Lavrov. There is a detailed argument, which describes the efforts that are being made to implement the deal. But, as they say, things are still there,” he said.

Earlier today, April 28, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu named justified claims of Russia to the implementation of the second part of the grain deal. “In the end, what was promised to Russia as part of the deal was never fulfilled,” he said. Among the unfulfilled conditions of the second part of the deal, Cavusoglu named the connection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system. On this issue, Ankara is now negotiating with other participants in the deal. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Turkish banks can perform intermediary functions in making payments for Russian grain and fertilizers. This initiative came from UN Secretary General António Guterres, Cavusoglu added.

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 signed with Moscow and Kiev: the first was for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, 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 March 14, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko announced the extension of the grain deal for 60 days and the confirmation of its package nature. The agreement expires May 18. On April 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the situation around the agreement went into a dead end. The minister pointed to the unwillingness to remove obstacles to the export of Russian fertilizers, despite their shortage, and also to connect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT.