Kremlin on Grain Deal: Position of Western Countries Complicates Process
© AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is faced with the unconstructive position of some Western countries regarding the Russian part of the grain deal, this complicates the process, but contacts will continue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
"This is one of the indicators that, despite all the efforts of the UN, Guterres, he is faced with, let's say, the unconstructive position of some Western [states]. It really complicates this process. It complicates, perhaps, the implementation of the Russian part of the Black Sea initiative, the Black Sea deal. But, nevertheless, contacts, as we said, continue, will continue because, yes, the deal has been extended for 2 months, but 2 months is a fairly short period, it will end fairly quickly," Peskov told reporters.
Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the grain deal had been extended until July 17 without any changes, but if all problematic issues of the initiative, including the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system, are not resolved in two months, it would be terminated after July 17.
In an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper released earlier in the day, spokesman for EU foreign affairs Peter Stano said that the bloc may restore access to the SWIFT payment system for Russian banks, including Russian Agricultural Bank, only after the conflict in Ukraine ends.
The grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 to facilitate exports of Ukrainian agricultural products from Black Sea ports during the hostilities that began in February of that year. 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 due to Western sanctions.
