Russia said on Monday it was in favor of renewing the agreement on Ukraine’s grain exports, which expires on March 18, for 60 days, not 120 as has been the case so far.
The announcement was made by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Verchinin after talks he held in Geneva, Switzerland with UN Humanitarian Affairs Officer Martin Griffiths and the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference United States on Trade and Development (Unctad), Rebeca Grynspan.
“The Russian side…is not opposed to a further extension of the ‘Black Sea Initiative’ after its second term expires on March 18, but only for 60 days,” Sergei Verchinin said in a written statement. sent to the media. after the conference.
restrictions
“Our future position will be determined by tangible progress in the normalization of our agricultural exports, not in words but in deeds. This includes bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, the ‘thaw’ of financial activities and the supply of ammonia to through the ‘Togliatti-Odessa’ pipeline,” he said.
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stressed that the “frank and exhaustive” discussion with senior UN officials had “confirmed once again that if commercial exports of Ukrainian products proceed at a steady pace and bring considerable to Kiev, the restrictions imposed to Russian agricultural exporters are still in place”.
Last week, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, described as “complicated” the negotiations aimed at expanding this agreement, which has made it possible to resume exports of Ukrainian cereals despite the invasion of the country.
“Inactive” exemptions
This so-called Black Sea agreement, signed in July 2022 for 120 days between the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, has made it possible to limit the serious world food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. It was renewed in November for 120 days and has so far exported more than 24 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports, according to the UN.
China is the first recipient of exports made under the agreement, Spain the second and Turkey the third.
Ukraine last week called for international efforts to keep open the Black Sea shipping lanes used to transport its grain, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called at the G20 in early March for Russia to renew the deal. .
But Russia, for its part, is not happy with another bilateral agreement signed with the UN on Russian fertilizer exports, also signed in July 2022 but valid for three years.
Moscow complains that its exports of fertilizer, a staple of global agriculture, are de facto blocked despite not being subject to sanctions imposed by Western countries since the start of the war.
“The sanctions waivers for food and fertilizer announced by Washington, Brussels and London are essentially inactive,” Sergei Verchinin said on Monday.
Source: BFM TV
