UN: Russia decided to limit the registration of ships in the Yuzhny port as part of a grain deal

Russia has notified the Joint Coordinating Center (JCC) in Istanbul of its decision to restrict the registration of ships to the port of Yuzhny due to the lack of exports of Russian ammonia. This was announced by the representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric.

“Russia has informed SKC of the decision to limit the registration of vessels for the Yuzhny port until ammonia is exported. It is currently not being implemented,” he said (cit. according to TASS).

Earlier, Dujarric said that the passage of ships to the Yuzhny port has not been carried out since May 2.

On May 19, Reuters reported that Ukraine will consider the possibility of resuming the transit of Russian ammonia through its territory, provided that Russia expands the grain deal to a greater number of ports and goods. After that, the Russian Foreign Ministry saidthat the terms of the deal could not be extended.

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.

On May 17, the grain deal was extended for another two months. Russia insists on five “systemic” objectives 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 ammonia pipeline and unfreezing the assets of Russian companies. On May 18, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that if Russia’s conditions are not met, then “there is no question of any expansion of the” Black Sea initiative “in principle.