Russian Foreign Ministry: grain deal extended without changes

The grain deal was extended until June 17 without changes, reported at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

The Foreign Ministry added that so far only the “Black Sea Initiative” has been implemented, with the exception of the export of ammonia. The Foreign Ministry also has questions about the humanitarian component of the deal. “Ukrainian grain is exported through the sea corridor mainly to high-income and above-average countries, including “well-fed” European markets. Countries in need receive an absolute miserly amount – 722,000 tons (or 2.5%) of the total of 30 million tons exported from Ukrainian ports in 9 months,” the ministry added.

They clarified that the supply of Russian products, including the free transfer of fertilizers to the poorest countries, is blocked.

“There is no progress on the resumption of the supply of ammonia, prescribed in both Istanbul documents. In particular, on the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, to which the UN Secretary General devoted his visit to Kiev on March 8, as well as a separate initiative, which, like the Russia-UN Memorandum, remains on paper,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian ministry recalled five “systemic” tasks 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 Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and “unfreezing” the assets of Russian companies.

“Without the fulfillment of these requirements, there is no question of any expansion of the Black Sea Initiative in principle, and the agreement itself will be terminated after July 17,” the Foreign Ministry said.

On May 17, the grain deal was extended for another two months. The last time it was extended for the same period on March 18. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara will make every effort to fully implement the deal and extend it in subsequent periods. The Kremlin confirmed the extension of the deal, noting the relative result in the negotiations with the participation of representatives of Turkey, Ukraine and the UN. According to the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, the fate of the deal is in the hands of those with whom the UN must agree on the Russian part of the agreement.

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.