The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to the lack of arguments in favor of extending the grain deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he did not understand what arguments could be in favor of another extension of the grain deal. He spoke about this on briefing on international issues.

Lavrov said that the terrorist attack on the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline earlier in June was another “drop on the cup of patience”. The Minister recalled that this pipeline is directly mentioned in the proposals of UN Secretary General António Guterres and is part of the grain deal. The resumption of the work of the ammonia pipeline was personally blocked by the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, Lavrov noted, and then Kyiv simply blew it up.

“Therefore, I don’t see what arguments those who would like to continue the Black Sea initiative have, because, as I said, it has long become commercial in terms of Ukrainian grain,” he said.

On June 7, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that on the evening of June 5, the Ukrainian DRG blew up the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Masyutovka region of the Kharkov region. As a result of the incident, Russian servicemen were not injured, but there are wounded among the civilian population.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said repair and restoration work would likely take one to three months if access to the damage site is available. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti then notedthat it is hardly possible to resume the operation of the ammonia pipeline before the end of hostilities, and the failure of the main line will also minimize the chances of extending the grain deal.

On June 21, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin does not see the prerequisites for extending the grain deal, since the agreements are not being implemented. 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. On June 20, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin allowed the completion of the grain agreement on July 18 due to non-fulfillment of the agreements. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a new round of consultations with the UN.