A UN official said consultations on extending the Black Sea grain deal were continuing with all parties, Reuters reported.
“Negotiations ended yesterday as agreed, but consultations are continuing with all parties,” the agency quoted the spokesman as saying on Tuesday.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said after talks with UN officials on the grain deal situation in Geneva that Russia had no objection to another extension of the Black Sea Initiative after the second deadline expired on March 18, but only for 60 days. He said Russia’s further position would be determined depending on real – not in word but in deed – progress on normalising Russian agricultural exports, including bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, unfreezing financial activities and ammonia supplies through the Tolyatti-Odessa pipeline.
The grain deal, signed on 22 July 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, envisages the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizers via the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul is in charge of coordinating vessel traffic. The agreement expired on 18 November 2022, but implied an automatic 120-day extension until 18 March if no party objected. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that “no such objections have been received”, while noting that the Russian side allows for a technical prolongation of the “Black Sea initiative” for the export of Ukrainian grain without any changes to the terms and scope.
The grain deal itself is part of a package deal that includes unblocking Russian exports of food and fertilizers, Moscow noted, which is exactly what has not been implemented. However, there were assurances from the UN that the restrictions would be lifted.
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