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Russia announced on Thursday that there will be no extension of the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 unless the West removes a series of obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizers.
“Without progress in solving five systemic problems… there is no need to talk about extending the Black Sea initiative after May 18,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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Russia also blamed Ukraine and the United Nations for a backlog of inspections of ships exporting grain from Black Sea ports under the deal.
Russia has repeatedly said that key obstacles to its exports need to be removed, including reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT payment system.
Other demands include the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and parts, the end of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, access to ports, the resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, and the unlocking of assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in food and export of fertilizers.
Source: Guy Faulconbridge | Notícias Agrícolas
