On Saturday, Russia announced that it had notified all parties to the Black Sea grain export agreement of a 60-day extension of the agreement and confirmed that it would not consider an extension other than one with conditions.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova published a copy of a letter from Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, which says that Moscow has no objection to extending the agreement by 60 days until May 18, Reuters reports.
After significant progress
The letter also stated that “the Russian side will not consider an additional extension (of the agreement) after the specified date, except after achieving tangible progress” in the issue of Russian food and fertilizer exports.
Moscow says that while the West has not explicitly targeted these exports, sanctions on its payments, logistics and insurance industries create barriers.
This comes after Turkey and the United Nations announced earlier on Saturday an extension of the agreement without specifying a duration.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian government minister announced a 120-day extension.
July 2022
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict that began in February 2022 has reportedly resulted in warships closing Ukrainian ports overlooking the Black Sea.
But in July 2022, an agreement brokered by Ankara and the United Nations and signed by Moscow and Kiev allowed safe passage for the export of major grain stocks. The agreement was extended in November until March 18.
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