A new round of consultations on the grain deal with the participation of a UN representative will be held in Moscow on May 5, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Head of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan will pay a visit to Moscow this week to discuss the grain deal.
"Our estimates of the implementation of the Russia-UN memorandum on the access of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the world market are well known, they have not changed. I can say that on May 5, Moscow will host another round of consultations on the implementation of the memorandum between the Russian interdepartmental delegation and UN representatives headed by UNCTAD Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan," Zakharova told a briefing.
A high-level meeting on the grain deal is currently under discussion, the diplomat said, noting that dates are not finalized yet.
The so-called Black Sea grain deal, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkiye, Ukraine and the UN, involves the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizer across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. A joint coordinating center in Istanbul is responsible for coordinating the movement of ships. The deal is part of a package agreement that, among other things, provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, Moscow noted that this part of the agreement was not implemented. At the same time, there were assurances from the UN that the restrictions would be lifted. From March 18, 2023, Russia extended the deal for 60 days – until May 18, Ukraine insists that the deal has been extended for 120 days.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that without progress in solving five "systemic" problems – the reconnection of Russian agriculture-focused banl Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT; resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and service; the abolition of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance and the lifting of the ban on access to ports; restoration of work of the ammonia pipeline "Togliatti-Odessa"; unblocking foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies associated with the production and transportation of food and fertilizer – there is no need to talk about a further extension of the Black Sea initiative after May 18.