Consultations on the “grain deal” with the participation of representatives of Russia and the UN will be held in Geneva on March 13.
“The next rounds of consultations are scheduled for March 13 in Geneva, in which the Russian interdepartmental delegation will take part, there will be high-ranking representatives of the United Nations (UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin) Griffiths and (Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca) Greenspan, the deal you mentioned will be discussed,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier at a briefing, answering a question about Russia’s participation in negotiations to extend the “grain deal”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on March 9 that the issue of extending the “grain deal” is becoming quite complicated due to the fact that it is “only halfway done.”
He recalled that the deal includes “two components: the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea from the ports of Ukraine and the necessary removal of all obstacles to the export of Russian grain and Russian fertilizers.”
“The first part is being fulfilled, and we, the Russian Federation, are fulfilling all our obligations in this regard, together with our Turkish colleagues; the second part is not being implemented at all,” the Russian minister stressed.
According to him, the current sanctions “prohibit Russian ships carrying grain and fertilizer from entering the respective ports; prohibit foreign ships from entering Russian ports to pick up these cargoes; sanctions prohibit Russian Agricultural Bank from using the SWIFT system, and because of the sanctions, insurance rates have also quadrupled.”
The Grain Deal was concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. With the participation of the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, two documents were signed – on the creation of a corridor for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports (Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny), as well as on the removal of barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilizers.
The deal expires March 18.
Source: Rosbalt
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