USA: Russia may be ready to negotiate a grain agreement

The United States has been told that the Russian Federation is ready to return to negotiations on the grain agreement, but there has not yet seen any evidence of this. This was stated by the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

The ambassador said that if the Russian Federation wants to get its own fertilizers on world markets and carry out agricultural operations, it will have to return to the grain agreement.

“We have seen signs that they may be interested in returning to discussions. So we’ll wait and see if that actually happens,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

The Russian part has said that if its demands to improve its own grain and fertilizer exports are met, it will consider restoring a grain deal brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 to help ease the global food crisis following the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

Russian grain and fertilizer exports are not subject to Western sanctions, but Russia has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have been a barrier to supplies. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Vershinin, who headed Moscow’s negotiations on agreeing a grain agreement, on the sidelines of the UN summit in Rome.

Tags: exports, grain, United States, world markets, fertilizers, negotiations, Russian Federation, grain agreement