Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Moscow — The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed that Russia had renewed the Black Sea grain deal for two months after achieving some results in talks which had given it “certain hopes”, but said more progress had to be made to advance its own interests.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech on Wednesday and it was later confirmed by Russia, Ukraine and the UN.
The UN and Turkey brokered the agreement — which allows Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports — for an initial 120 days in July 2022 to help tackle a global food crisis that has been aggravated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow had initially appeared unwilling to extend the pact unless a list of demands regarding its own agricultural exports was met.
Commenting on the deal’s renewal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a “qualified result” for Russia had been achieved in negotiations over easing restrictions on Russian agricultural exports.
In a call with reporters, he said that different scenarios were being worked out regarding easing international payment transfer curbs on Russia’s state agricultural bank, one of Moscow’s key demands.
“Regarding guarantees for Rosselkhoz bank — various options are being explored that would be equivalent to reversing its exclusion from the SWIFT payment system,” he said.
“There are certain hopes based on the negotiations that have taken place so far.”
But he indicated that Moscow wanted to see more progress in the next two months.
“It is very important to understand that the fate of the deal is still in the hands of those with whom the UN must agree on the Russian part of the deal,” said Peskov.
“A certain part of the way has been travelled — there are results — but not definitive ones. We will try to solve this problem definitively within these 60 days.”
He added that talks on the export of ammonia from a Russian city to a Ukrainian port via a pipeline were ongoing.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Kremlin renews grain export deal
Moscow — The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed that Russia had renewed the Black Sea grain deal for two months after achieving some results in talks which had given it “certain hopes”, but said more progress had to be made to advance its own interests.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech on Wednesday and it was later confirmed by Russia, Ukraine and the UN.
The UN and Turkey brokered the agreement — which allows Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports — for an initial 120 days in July 2022 to help tackle a global food crisis that has been aggravated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow had initially appeared unwilling to extend the pact unless a list of demands regarding its own agricultural exports was met.
Commenting on the deal’s renewal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a “qualified result” for Russia had been achieved in negotiations over easing restrictions on Russian agricultural exports.
In a call with reporters, he said that different scenarios were being worked out regarding easing international payment transfer curbs on Russia’s state agricultural bank, one of Moscow’s key demands.
“Regarding guarantees for Rosselkhoz bank — various options are being explored that would be equivalent to reversing its exclusion from the SWIFT payment system,” he said.
“There are certain hopes based on the negotiations that have taken place so far.”
But he indicated that Moscow wanted to see more progress in the next two months.
“It is very important to understand that the fate of the deal is still in the hands of those with whom the UN must agree on the Russian part of the deal,” said Peskov.
“A certain part of the way has been travelled — there are results — but not definitive ones. We will try to solve this problem definitively within these 60 days.”
He added that talks on the export of ammonia from a Russian city to a Ukrainian port via a pipeline were ongoing.
Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Will Black Sea grain deal be extended further?
Britain to provide Zelensky with attack drones
SA-produced weapons are not suitable for our armed forces, says Russia
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.