The Foreign Ministry announced the likelihood of completion of the grain deal on July 18

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin allowed the completion of the grain deal on July 18 due to non-fulfillment of the agreements.

“We are working to ensure that July 18 is the time for the completion of those agreements [зерновой сделки]that are not fulfilled,” Vershinin said (quote according to RIA Novosti). However, he did not rule out the possibility of a new round of consultations with the UN.

A day earlier, on June 19, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko declaredthat the withdrawal from the grain agreement does not mean the termination of the memorandum between Russia and the UN on the supply of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. According to Grushko, the grain deal took place only because “the parties involved in it came to a common point of view that, in the face of global security risks, it is necessary to find ways to export grain and fertilizers from certain ports of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.”

On June 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the consideration of the option of withdrawing from the agreement on grain at a meeting with military commanders. Prior to that, the press secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov clarifiedwhether we are talking about early exit or at the end of the deadline. “At the end,” he replied.

The grain deal was concluded on July 22 last year 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 one was for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, the second one was to help facilitate the export of Russian grain and fertilizers under international sanctions in connection with the special operation. Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that the second part of the deal is not being implemented. The last time the deal was extended until July 17.