“We confirm Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement,” the diplomat said. According to her, this initiative of the UN Secretary General “offers a chance to really help ensure global food security”
At the same time, Zakharova pointed out that “the principle assessments of the Istanbul agreements have not changed”. “The distortions must be corrected as soon as possible,” said a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Zakharova’s comment came after Erdogan announced that the Black Sea Grain Initiative had been extended for another 60 days. “I would like to announce the good news to the whole world. The grain agreement concluded on July 22, 2022 expired tomorrow. It has been decided to extend the agreement on the Black Sea Grain Initiative for two months,” said said the Turkish president.
According to the Turkish leader, this became possible thanks to the constructive approaches of Russia and Ukraine. He expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary General António Guterres for their efforts on this file.
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that the extension of the Istanbul agreements is possible only if the interests of the Russian Federation are taken into account. The Russian side did not set 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.
However, only the first part of this package of agreements has been implemented so far. And Rosselkhozbank is still under sanctions and has not been reconnected to the SWIFT system, the supply of agricultural machinery and spare parts to the Russian Federation has been limited, and insurance and port access restrictions against Russian ships and goods were not 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 by 120 days (in November), then by 60 (in March).
Read the Latest Science and Technology News Today on The Eastern Herald.
