Problems with the export of grain and fertilizers from the Russian Federation remain, despite US statements about the existence of exemptions from sanctions. Thus, on March 15, the Russian Embassy in Washington commented on statements by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that the grain deal should not be allowed to stop.
It is noted that Washington’s “fixation” on only one of the two interrelated parts of the grain deal does not contribute to resolving the global food crisis.
“It is significant that the official once again kept silent about serious problems with the implementation of the second element of the package deal – the Memorandum between Russia and the UN on the normalization of Rosagroexport. Its implementation continues to limp on both legs, primarily due to the sanctions “efforts” of the West,” the statement says.
According to the embassy, despite Washington’s assurances about the existence of humanitarian “exemptions” from the restrictive regime, local regulators have established “numerous barriers” that prevent grain and fertilizer from the Russian Federation from freely entering world markets.
Among the unresolved problems is the difficulty of financial and transport support of transactions for agricultural products, the persistence of obstacles to the issuance of insurance for dry cargo ships. In addition, the transportation of ammonia through the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline has not yet been resumed.
“It has reached the point of absurdity – Russia has faced unimaginable difficulties in humanitarian, gratuitous supplies of chemicals to the poorest countries. Our principled line remains unchanged – the least developed countries are in dire need of an uninterrupted supply of Russian agricultural products. We will continue to achieve – not in words, but in deeds – progress in the strict implementation of all the provisions of the Istanbul agreements,” the diplomatic mission stressed.
On the eve of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the West continues to speculate on the extension of the grain deal.
Also on March 15, the European Union (EU) supported the extension of the grain deal, but emphasized that the sanctions do not affect the export of Russian agricultural products and food products.
On March 14, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin announced that Russia had decided to extend the grain deal for only two months due to the lack of progress in the supply of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets. He also called Moscow’s position an important signal of the need to achieve real results on the grain deal.
In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the part of the deal concerning the Russian side has not yet been completed, despite all the efforts of UN Secretary General António Guterres. The Kremlin spokesman added that the deal “cannot stand on one leg.”
The food deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul. Then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Guterres signed a memorandum on facilitating the supply of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation signed an agreement with Turkey and the UN on the export of grain. In November, the contract was extended for 120 days.
