Russia says will approve 'only 60-day extension' of Ukraine grain deal

The UN and Türkiye brokered the settlement between the warring nations, permitting Ukraine to ship meals and fertiliser from three of its Black Sea ports. The deal expires on March 18.

The United Nations pledged to do everything possible to ensure the agreement's integrity remained intact. — The United Nations pledged to do every little thing doable to make sure the settlement’s integrity remained intact.
(AP Archive)

Russia doesn’t object to a different extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative “but only for 60 days,” the deputy international minister mentioned.

The deal was set to finish its second time period on March 18.

Sergey Vershinin’s remarks on Monday got here in a press release following a Russian delegation assembly with UN Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.

“Our further stance will be determined upon the tangible progress on normalization of our agricultural exports, not in words, but in deeds,” Vershinin mentioned.

“It includes bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, ‘unfreezing’ of financial activities and ammonia supplies via the ‘Tolyatti-Odessa’ pipeline.”

Noting that sides additionally mentioned the memorandum of understanding between Russia and the UN to facilitate unimpeded exports of meals and fertilizer, Griffiths expressed – in line with a UN assertion – that the UN stays “fully committed” to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, in addition to to efforts to facilitate the export of Russian meals and fertilizer.

The UN will do “everything possible” to protect the integrity of the grain deal and guarantee its continuity, he confirmed.

The assertion underlined that the 2 agreements have had “a positive impact” on world meals safety, with hundreds of thousands of tons of grain reaching world markets.

The grain initiative has allowed the exports of 24 million metric tons of grains and over 1,600 safe vessel voyages by the Black Sea with 55% of meals exports going to creating nations, it mentioned.

So, the continuation of the deal “is crucial for global food security,” it mentioned, “as grain and fertilizer prices and availability have not returned to pre-war levels, causing hardship particularly in developing countries.”

Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an settlement in Istanbul to renew grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which had been paused after the Russia-Ukraine struggle started in February 2022. The deal was prolonged for 120 days in November.

READ MORE:
Can Türkiye salvage Ukraine-Russia grain deal?