Renewal of the Ukraine Grain Agreement – Moscow – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters on Tuesday that the UN-brokered agreement with Turkey on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea has been extended for another three months. However, Moscow remains frustrated that it has failed to lift Western restrictions on its food and fertilizer trade, the official added.

The Black Sea Grain Fund was introduced in August last year to facilitate the export of agricultural products from Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia. It was originally slated to last 180 days and has since been renewed once.

According to Grushko, Russia has agreed to renew it again, but only for 60 days, as his counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, suggested on Monday.

The agreement includes a UN pledge to pressure Western countries to lift some economic sanctions against Russia. Moscow said the restrictions effectively prevented Russian grain producers from using freight traders to sell goods on the world market.

Russia has also argued that since Ukraine’s trade facilitation has been touted as a way to combat rising global food prices, it would be reasonable to wait for those restrictions to be lifted.

“We insist on the removal of all promises and obligations to Russia related to the implementation of this second path, that is, the removal of all direct and indirect sanctions related to the export of Russian agricultural products to the world market,” he said. Grushko said.

Russia has long criticized the implementation of the grain agreement, arguing that it did not benefit the most vulnerable countries, and that most of Ukraine’s products were used to feed cattle in Europe. Meanwhile, low-income countries in Africa and Asia are prohibited from importing Russian grain and fertilizer due to Western sanctions, Moscow said.

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