Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Vershinin said that progress in the movement of Russian agricultural exports under the agreement with the UN “tends to zero”, and the restrictions imposed on Russia remain.
Vershinin said in an interview with the RTVI TV channel today, Monday: “Progress in the implementation of the Russia-UN memorandum on the normalization of Russian agricultural exports tends to zero. All restrictions on bank payments, insurance and access to ports remain in effect, and new restrictions are added. In these conditions”. The meaning of an interconnected package of Istanbul agreements aimed at overcoming the food crisis may disappear.
He added that the process of implementing the grain deal signed last summer in Istanbul “cannot be considered satisfactory.” He explained: “The Black Sea initiative to export Ukrainian food is only being implemented, and it is being done according to a formula far from the originally stated humanitarian goals, so the shipments, consisting of 70% feed corn and feed grains, are intended for high-income countries (47% ) and middle-income countries. 33%. As for the countries in need (Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan and Djibouti), “only 3% of the products were delivered to them.”
When asked by a journalist about the prospects for extending the grain deal in March next year for another 120 days, the Russian diplomat replied: “Without tangible results regarding the implementation of the memorandum between Russia and the UN, and above all with regard to the real lifting of sanctions imposed on Russian agricultural exports, we are not considering the concept of a package of agreements.
Source: TASS