If in the framework of the grain agreement, extended until May 18, there is no progress under the Russia-UN memorandum, then Moscow will suspend its participation in the “Black Sea Initiative “. About this March 20 warned Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its official website.
The ministry recalled that the previous agreement (the second in a row) lasted 120 days and ended on March 18, after which it was extended again – but only for 60 days, since Moscow is not satisfied with the “lack of progress in the implementation of the Russia-UN memorandum on the normalization of national agricultural exports.
“A further decision to extend the initiative will depend on progress in the implementation of the following conditions within the framework of the implementation of the memorandum,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
The Foreign Ministry listed the points stipulated by the memorandum, on the implementation of which it insists as a mandatory condition for the extension of the “Black Sea Initiative” for the export of Ukrainian products:
unlock foreign assets of Russian companies related to the production and transport of food and fertilizers; removal of restrictions on ship insurance and reinsurance; the lifting of the ban on vessel access to ports; reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT system; resumption of operation of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline; authorization for the supply of agricultural machinery, their spare parts and their service.
The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry stresses that all these requirements are “absolutely not new”, and their implementation is provided for by the memorandum signed by the UN. In turn, this memorandum is an integral part of the “package” of agreements initiated by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres.
“Their implementation must be simultaneous and interconnected in order to ensure global food security and provide assistance to needy countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. So far, only the Ukrainian part of the “package” has been implemented, and within parameters that are far from the declared humanitarian goals,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
Moscow has previously said that Ukrainian grain, which is exported from the country under the “Black Sea Initiative”, does not go to poor countries, as provided for in agreements with the UN, but to states “to high level of income. and above average. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry stressed, the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products is still blocked by Western sanctions, to which, according to the memorandum, exceptions must be made.
“Even the free transfer of Russian fertilizers (262,000 tons) to the poorest countries is carried out with great difficulty and delays: in six months, only one supply (20,000 tons) has been made to Malawi”, summarizes the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The UN has recognized that a significant part of Ukrainian grain goes to developed countries, since “this market is not controlled by the authorities”, and the rules of the market are “freely applied” between private entities, including the rule of supply and demand.
In the summer of 2022, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN signed an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain along a safe sea corridor. The agreement was valid for 120 days, but on November 17, 2022, it was extended until March 18, 2023.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on March 15, following the results of Geneva’s consultations with the UN, warned that Moscow was ready to extend the grain deal for just 60 days instead of the previous 120. He explained this decision by non-compliance with the points of the Russia-UN memorandum.
On March 18, when the grain deal expired, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had managed to get it extended. At the same time, the Turkish leader did not indicate specific dates – like the official representative of the UN Secretary General Stefan Dujarric. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov claimed the deal had been “extended for another 120 days”, but the Russian side denied it.
