Russia admitted on Friday that it would not renew the grain deal that allows food exports through the Black Sea if progress is not made in fulfilling commitments in the Moscow-UN memorandum.
“Without progress in resolving five systemic issues (…) there can be no question of extending the Black Sea Initiative (grains agreement) beyond May 18″the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Moscow is asking that the Rosselkhzbank bank be reintegrated into the SWIFT financial communication system and that permissions to access agricultural machinery be recovered, as well as permissions for maintenance services related to the equipment.
Russia also calls for an end to restrictions on access to seaports and the rehabilitation of the since 2022 crippled ammonium pipeline between Tolyatti (Russia) and Odessa, as well as for an end to the blocking of bank accounts of Russian companies related to the production and transportation of food and fertilizers.
Parallel to the agreement on grains, the United Nations has drawn up a memorandum to facilitate Russian exports (food and fertilizers).
The Black Sea Grain Movement Initiative was signed in July last year between Ukraine and Russia, under the diplomatic intervention of Turkey.
The agreement provides for a period of 120 days, renewable for the same period in agreement with the parties.
On March 18, Russia extended the validity of the treaty for only 60 days because, according to Moscow, only “half of the agreement” had been fulfilled.
“We know that the UN representatives are making certain efforts, but they do not always yield results. As happened before, the second half of the agreement is not working. The terms of the agreement have not been fulfilled”emphasized Moscow diplomats.
Source: DN
