“I would like to convey good news to the whole world. The agreement on the grain agreement concluded on July 22, 2022 expired tomorrow. It has been decided to extend the agreement on the Grains Initiative of the Black Sea,” Erdogan said.
According to the Turkish leader, this became possible thanks to the constructive approaches of Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore, he expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support for Turkish initiatives.
Erdogan expressed the hope that this decision would be beneficial for all parties. He assured that Ankara will make every effort to ensure that all terms of the agreement are respected.
As Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted earlier, the expansion of the Black Sea Initiative is possible only if the interests of the Russian Federation are taken into account. According to her, Moscow does not impose any additional conditions. We are only talking about the elements that were included in the agreements and sealed by the obligations of the parties to this global agreement. It includes not only the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which regulates the export of grain from Ukraine, but also a Russia-UN memorandum, which aims to ensure access of Russian agricultural products to world markets.
As Moscow has repeatedly emphasized, only the first part of this package of agreements is being implemented. At the same time, Rosselkhozbank is still subject to sanctions and has not been reconnected to the SWIFT system, deliveries of agricultural machinery and spare parts to the Russian Federation have been limited, and restrictions on insurance and access to ports against Russian ships and goods have not been lifted.
The agreements imply an automatic extension if the parties have no objections. The current extension will be the third in a row. Despite Russia’s claims, Moscow agreed to extend the deal, first for 120 days (in November), then for 60 days (in March).
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