A Russian delegation will meet in Moscow on Friday with the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan, to discuss the international agreement on grain exports announced by Russian diplomacy on Wednesday .
“On May 5, Moscow will host a new round of consultations on the implementation of the memorandum of the Russian Inter-Ministerial Delegation with UN representatives and the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Rebeca Grynspan,” the spokesman said. of Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova.
Earlier, Grynspan’s visit to the Russian capital was announced by a United Nations spokesman.
According to the UN, the purpose of the visit is to discuss the need to renew the agreement on the export of grains from Ukraine and the export of food and fertilizer from Russia.
The agreement for the export of grains through the Black Sea was signed last summer by Ukraine and Russia, brokered by the UN and Turkey, and aims to block the flow of grains and food products that have been blocked in Ukrainian ports since the Russian invasion of February 2022.
At the same time, a memorandum was also signed to facilitate Russian exports of food and fertilizers, a commitment that Moscow says is not being kept.
The agreement was signed for a period of 120 days and then extended for a second similar period until March 18. At that time, Russia decided to impose a new extension period of only 60 days, which will expire on May 18.
The Kremlin (Russian presidency) warned on Tuesday that talks to extend the agreement that allows the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea are in jeopardy.
“Russia’s position is known. The agreement has already been extended for another two months, but the window is closing. Continue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Peskov returned today to address the issue, saying “there is little reason for optimism” about the possibility of extending the agreement.
However, he assured that “contacts continue” and that Russia is “interested in fulfilling the terms of the agreement”.
At the same time, Peskov stressed that “Russia will not do anything contrary to its interests.”
According to Turkish authorities, the deputy defense ministers of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will negotiate an extension of the grain agreement at a meeting in Istanbul next Friday.
Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that there are no concrete dates for this meeting yet.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
