Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that they support the initiative to extend the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement with the understanding that the next 2 months will be decisive.
Lavrov held a press conference after meeting with Ugandan Foreign Minister Jeje Odongo in the capital Moscow.
Answering the question about the extension of the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement until July 18, Lavrov said, “Taking into account the situation and the demands of our partners, we supported the initiative to extend the grain agreement announced by President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan for 2 more months, with the understanding that these two months will be decisive. ” said.
Pointing to the importance of the implementation of the part of the agreement that concerns Russia, Lavrov said that the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken initiatives to lift the sanctions that prevent the shipment of Russian agricultural products.
“We see that Guterres and his staff are struggling on this issue. They occasionally meet with the countries that impose the sanctions. However, we do not see any results in this regard yet,” Lavrov said. used the phrases.
Minister Lavrov also reminded that only 3 percent of the grain extracted from Ukrainian ports under the agreement goes to poor countries.
“CONSULTATION CONTINUES ON THE LIFT OF SANCTIONS AGAINST ROSSELKHOZBANK”
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov also told reporters on the subject that the grain agreement was extended as a result of negotiations with Turkey, Ukraine and United Nations officials.
Pointing out that consultations continue on the lifting of some sanctions against the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank), within the scope of the grain agreement, Peskov said, “Some options are being considered equivalent to lifting the SWIFT sanction against the bank.” said.
Explaining that the negotiations on this issue are promising, Peskov said, “In this context, it was decided to extend the grain agreement for two months.” used the phrase.
BLACK SEA GRAIN CORRIDOR AGREEMENT
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that it was decided to extend the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement for 2 more months.
The said agreement was made in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 between Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the UN. (AA)