The Kremlin announced no progress on the grain deal

There is currently no progress in fulfilling Russia’s conditions for resuming the grain deal, said press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

During a conversation with journalists, he was asked whether Ankara’s reports about an upcoming telephone conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and Turkey meant that such progress had occurred.

“No, there is no progress yet. There is also no exact date for the conversation; it is not on the schedule yet. But you know that conversations between Putin and Erdogan are agreed upon in a matter of hours, so there won’t be any problem here if necessary,” Peskov said.

The grain deal ceased to operate on July 18. Russia has informed Turkey, Ukraine and the UN of its reluctance to extend it. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that Western countries did not fulfill their obligations to Russia under the deal, despite calls from the UN. He also reported that most of the grain from Ukraine was received by high-income countries, although the purpose of the deal was to provide food to countries in need.

Earlier this week, European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell statedthat the EU cannot agree with Russia on resuming the grain deal.

The Black Sea Initiative, or grain deal, was in effect from July 22, 2022 to July 18, 2023. It was concluded by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN. The essence of the deal was the possibility of exporting Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizers from three ports along a safe corridor in the Black Sea in exchange for unblocking Russian exports of food and fertilizers, reconnecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, as well as resuming the supply of agricultural machinery, spare parts and service.