Russia puts forward 5 requirements for the continuation of the “grain deal”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the aggressor country has once again put forward new demands, without which it threatens not to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative after May 18.

“Reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and service, lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance plus lifting of the ban on access to ports; resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, unblocking of foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies related to the production and transportation of food and fertilizers,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier it was reported that the Russian leadership has repeatedly voiced the thesis that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was extended for only 60 days after March 18, not 120, as the UN, Ukraine and Turkey insist.

In exchange for the operation of the grain corridor, Russia has once again demanded that its ammonia exports be resumed in transit through Ukraine. In particular, the aggressor country wants to resume the operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline and ammonia transshipment in the port of Pivdennyi for further transportation by ship across the Black Sea. Using this as a pressure factor, Russia is simultaneously building an ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer transshipment terminal in the port of Taman.

At the same time, experts note that the true meaning of Russian demands is different. “The ammonia pipeline enters the territory of Ukraine near the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast – along the front line between Kharkiv and the occupied part of Luhansk Oblast. The resumption of ammonia pumping through this pipeline clearly requires a ceasefire in this area of the frontline. The Ukrainian authorities do not agree to this, realizing that it could set an unfavorable precedent for a “partial truce,” commented Andriy Klymenko, Head of the Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies.

As a reminder, on March 18, Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov announced that the agreement on the Black Sea Grain Initiative had been extended for another 120 days. Later, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said that Turkey and the UN had also officially announced that the Black Sea Grain Initiative had been extended for 120 days.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia