Vershinin: the decision on the grain deal will be made based on the interests of the Russian Federation

The decision on the grain deal will be made only on the basis of Russia’s interests. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Vershinin.

“In any circumstances, we must be guided by a clear understanding of the interests of the Russian side. Therefore, this is what we will be guided by,” said the Deputy Minister (quote according to RIA Novosti). Vershinin said this after negotiations with the UN. In May, the deal was extended until July 17.

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 June 8, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov after the explosion of the ammonia pipeline Togliatti – Odessa in the Masyutovka region of the Kharkov region declaredthat this could complicate the situation with the extension of the grain initiative. The ammonia pipeline itself appeared in the second part of the deal.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian DRG carried out the explosion on June 7. As a result of the incident, the Russian servicemen were not injured, but there were wounded among the population who were provided with medical assistance, the department specified.

As part of the discussion of the agreement, Russia put forward a demand for the resumption of operation of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, which is designed to transport up to 2.5 million tons of ammonia per year. After that, Kyiv put forward its own conditions for the resumption of the transit of Russian ammonia through its territory, Reuters wrote. Among the conditions in particular was the extension of the grain deal to more goods and ports.