https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230429/russia-sees-no-progress-in-implementing-its-part-of-grain-deal-1058922568.html
Russia Sees No Progress in Implementing Its Part of Grain Deal
Russia Sees No Progress in Implementing Its Part of Grain Deal
Sputnik Africa
There are no tangible results that would indicate that Russia's demands under the Black Sea Grain Initiative have been met, but there is still time before the grain deal expires, Russian Deputy FM Sergey Vershinin said
2023-04-29T10:45+0200
2023-04-29T10:45+0200
2023-08-03T10:48+0200
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black sea grain initiative
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"Assessments of the progress have been outlined. Today we are at the end of April, we still have time. For now, I will repeat what we are saying publicly at different levels — we have no concrete results that would indicate progress in meeting our demands," Vershinin said. Russia is "being told about the efforts," he said, adding that the country appreciates the efforts, "but we need results, and there are no results."Vershinin also noted that the ideas for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, also known as the grain deal, formulated by UN Secretary General António Guterres, are considered and worked out in an interdepartmental format.Apart from that, the Russian deputy foreign minister remarked that Russia is not ready to sacrifice the quality of vessel inspections under the Black Sea Grain Initiative in favor of the speed of the process.The deputy minister also said that the Joint Coordination Center is operating in Istanbul based on the procedures that were agreed upon when it was established, and Russia relies on these procedures in its work. The parties agreed that the Black Sea Grain Initiative would cover only grain shipments from Ukraine without any additional cargoes, including dangerous ones, he recalled.The grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye between Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to facilitate exports of agricultural products from Black Sea ports during conflict. The package agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding between Russia and the UN to unblock Russian grain and fertilizer exports via the Black Sea, which, according to Moscow, has not been implemented amid Western sanctions. The deal has since been extended twice, the latest time in March and is due to expire on May 18.
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grain deal, black sea grain initiative update, russia's stance on grain deal
grain deal, black sea grain initiative update, russia's stance on grain deal
Russia Sees No Progress in Implementing Its Part of Grain Deal
10:45 29.04.2023 (Updated: 10:48 03.08.2023) UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) –There are no tangible results that would indicate that Russia's demands under the Black Sea Grain Initiative have been met, but there is still time before the grain deal expires, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said, speaking about the prospects for extending the deal beyond May 18.
"Assessments of the progress have been outlined. Today we are at the end of April, we still have time. For now, I will repeat what we are saying publicly at different levels — we have no concrete results that would indicate progress in meeting our demands," Vershinin said.
Russia is "being told about the efforts," he said, adding that the country appreciates the efforts, "but we need results, and there are no results."
Vershinin
also noted that the ideas for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, also known as the grain deal, formulated by UN Secretary General António Guterres, are considered and worked out in an interdepartmental format.
"We can say that some new ideas are contained in the proposals that the UN Secretary General formulated and submitted through the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation [Sergey Lavrov] for consideration to Russian President Vladimir Putin," the diplomat pointed out.
Apart from that, the Russian deputy foreign minister remarked that Russia is not ready
to sacrifice the quality of vessel inspections under the Black Sea Grain Initiative in favor of the speed of the process.
"We have heard demands to increase the number of inspections. But this, apparently, can only be done at the expense of quality, at the expense of the fact that there will be a risk of missing the wrong cargo or incorrectly registered ships. We can't let that happen," Vershinin said.
The deputy minister also said that the Joint Coordination Center is operating in Istanbul based on the procedures that were agreed upon when it was established, and Russia relies on these procedures in its work. The parties agreed that the Black Sea Grain Initiative would cover only grain shipments from Ukraine without any additional cargoes, including dangerous ones, he recalled.
"We are not ready to sacrifice quality. Our people are working extremely professionally," Vershinin stressed, adding that demanding "more, faster, sooner" inspections is wrong.
The grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye between Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to facilitate exports of agricultural products from Black Sea ports during conflict. The package agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding between Russia and the UN to unblock Russian grain and fertilizer exports via the Black Sea, which, according to Moscow, has not been implemented amid Western sanctions. The deal has since been extended twice, the latest time in March and is due to expire on May 18.
