Russia threatens to terminate the grain deal: they want guarantees for their demands by May 18

UkrAgroConsult

The Black Sea Grain Initiative will be terminated if Russia does not receive guarantees that its demands will be met by May 18. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of the aggressor country Sergei Vershinin, according to the Russian propaganda agency TASS.

According to him, the grain deal “will cease to exist” if there are no guarantees, in particular, regarding ammonia.

Vershinin claims that Russia is protecting its national interests, farmers and fertilizer producers.

On May 10-11, representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN met in Istanbul. Following the meeting, the Turkish Ministry of Defense reported that the parties agreed to continue negotiations on the grain initiative.

As a reminder, on March 18, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that the grain agreement, which aims to guarantee the safe passage of ships from Ukrainian Black Sea ports for food exports, had been extended for another 120 days.

In turn, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that the country has agreed to extend the initiative for only 60 days, i.e. until May 18. Moscow has threatened to withdraw from the agreement if a number of conditions are not met. These included unblocking the foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies related to food and fertilizers, as well as resuming the supply of agricultural machinery, spare parts, and service. In addition, Russia wants to restore the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline and reconnect Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT system.

Tags: Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia