RUSSIA rules out any chances of extending the Black Sea grain deal.
The promises made to Russia were never fulfilled.
This is what Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said about the Black Sea grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye in July 2022.
According to Peskov, Russia has shown its goodwill several times, made concessions, and extended the deal.
“It’s hardly possible to predict some sort of a final decision here, but we can only state that – judging de facto by the status that we now have – this deal has no chance,” said Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin, Spokesperson.
The Kremlin spokesperson explained that the Black Sea grain deal implies deeds on the part of contradicting states or organizations and that one part of the said deal was done, however, the second part which is related to the promises made to Russia was never done.
The Black Sea grain deal provides safe shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea Corridors in exchange for the European Union and United States removing obstacles to exports of Russian fertilizers and other food products.
It also aims to stabilize global food prices and help countries in Africa, as well as parts of Asia, dependent on imports to meet their needs.
Russia said it used to export far more grain compared to Ukraine before the conflict broke out and its escalation disrupted the world market.
Meanwhile, Russia said that until now, it still could not supply such items to foreign buyers because of insurance, shipping, and brokerage sanctions that were imposed on Russia since it launched its so-called special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.
The U.S. and E.U., however, insisted that they never restricted such items.
The initial agreement of the Black Sea grain deal lasted for 120 days and was extended multiple times since then.
And now, the agreement is scheduled to expire on July 17.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was thinking about exiting the deal because nothing had been done to facilitate the food and fertilizer exports of Russia, and claimed that the Black Sea’s safety corridors had been used by Ukrainian forces to launch naval drones.
And, in his recent meeting with the African deletion in St. Petersburg, Putin told the said leaders that the supply of Ukrainian grain to world markets does not solve the problems of African countries in need of food, and despite the E.U. and U.S. promising that the agreement would help the poorest nations in the world, only 3.1% of the shipments of the Ukrainian grain ended up in Africa, while 38.9% of them are going to the E.U.
