Russia backs grain deal extension by just 60 days
Russia on Monday pledged to extend Ukraine’s grain exports deal, which expires on March 18, by 60 days, not 120 as has been the case so far. The announcement was made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Verchinin following talks he held in Geneva, Switzerland, with UN High Representative for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan , Had led.
“The Russian side (…) does not oppose a further extension of the ‘Black Sea Initiative’ after the end of its second term on March 18, but only for 60 days,” Verkhinin said in a written statement to the media after the meeting. “Our future position will be determined by tangible progress in normalizing our agricultural exports, not in words but in deeds. These include bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, the thawing of financial activities and the supply of ammonia through the Tolyatti-Odessa pipeline,” he said.
The so-called Black Sea Agreement, signed for 120 days in July 2022 between the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, has made it possible to limit the severe global food crisis caused by Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine . It was extended by 120 days in November 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 under the agreement, Spain is the second and Turkey is the third.
Ukraine last week called for international efforts to keep the Black Sea shipping lanes open for grain shipments, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to renew the deal at the G20 summit in early March.
But Russia, for its part, is not happy about another bilateral agreement with the UN on Russian fertilizer exports, also signed in July 2022 but with a three-year term. Moscow complains that its exports of fertilizer, a staple of global agriculture, are effectively blocked, although it is not covered by sanctions imposed by Western countries since the beginning of the war. “The food and fertilizer sanctions exemptions announced by Washington, Brussels and London are essentially dormant,” Verchinin said Monday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Verchinin leaves the UN building after meeting with UN officials for talks on the Black Sea Grains Initiative at the UN European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, March 13, 2023. SALVATORE DI NOLFI / AP