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Ukraine cannot rule out that a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea will end on May 18, when it is due to expire, and no further talks are planned for this week, a Foreign Ministry official said on Monday. -fair. Olha Trofimtseva, the Foreign Ministry's ambassador at large, said at a briefing that Ukraine was receiving conflicting signals about the future of the deal, the extension of which was discussed in talks in Turkey last week.
Ukrainian Black Sea ports were blocked after Russia's invasion last year, but access to three of them was freed last July under an agreement between Moscow and Kiev brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. “The general situation (after the negotiations) did not change much and we received quite conflicting information about the grain agreement and the possibility of its continuation,” she said.
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Moscow has threatened to end the deal on May 18 unless a list of demands is met to remove obstacles to Russia's own grain and fertilizer exports. “Such a termination, (Russia's) withdrawal from the grain initiative is possible, but for everyone and especially the Russian side, it will mean an escalation of the situation and complicate their future negotiating position for themselves,” Trofimtseva said.
She said Ukraine exported 2.5 million tonnes of agricultural products in April despite a slowdown in use of the grain corridor.
Source: Seane Lennon | agrolink
