Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that contacts about the grain deal are still ongoing, but that there are a number of questions still open in this regard.
This came in Peskov’s press briefing today, Tuesday, where he continued: “In general, contacts are still going on, and they have been all the time. However, there are still open questions, and there are a large number of them related to the Russian part of the deal. Now a decision has to be taken on The future of this deal, and whether the West will move forward on the ammonia supply issue.”
“When the appropriate decision is made, we will inform you,” Peskov said in response to a question about whether there are possibilities to extend the grain deal, and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to discuss this matter.
The Black Sea Grain Deal initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations, includes the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizers across the Black Sea from 3 ports, including Odessa, with the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul coordinating the movement of grain. ships. Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated in September that the West exports most of Ukraine’s grain to its own countries, not to needy countries in Africa.
As of March 18, 2023, Russia extended the agreement for a period of 60 days until May 18, while Ukraine insists on extending the deal for a period of 120 days.
The grain initiative is an integral part of the second part of the deal, which is related to the Russia-United Nations memorandum, designed for a period of 3 years. Spare parts, services, restoration of the ammonia pipeline (Tolyatti-Odessa) and a number of other measures, but these measures have not yet been implemented within the framework of the agreement package.
This article was originally published by RT.