Russian diplomacy said this Saturday that it remains dissatisfied with the progress of negotiations on agricultural exports after a meeting with the UN in Moscow on Friday.
“We remain unsatisfied with the progress made,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said in a statement to Russian state television, adding that it was “very important” for his government that the part of the agreement relating to the export of Russian grains and fertilizers is respected.
Vershinin confirmed that a new meeting at the level of deputy ministers on the grain agreement between Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey will take place in the near future.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said this Saturday that the situation with the export of Russian agricultural products under the grain agreement is not in the best direction.
Russia deplores the fact that its exports, facilitated by the United Nations in parallel with the Ukrainian grain export agreement, are facing difficulties, largely due to side effects of sanctions imposed by the West for invading Ukraine.
On Friday, experts in charge of implementing an agreement on the export of grains through the Black Sea did not agree on the movement of new vessels at a meeting in Moscow between the Russian authorities and the secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The Kremlin demands to restore the connection of the agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank with the SWIFT financial communications system, as well as to resume the supply of agricultural equipment, remove restrictions on insurance and free access to ports.
Moscow is also demanding the reopening of the Tolyatti-Odessa oil pipeline, which has been paralyzed since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February.
Ukraine accuses Russia of obstructing the passage of ships with Ukrainian grain.
The agreement, which was brokered by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkey, expires on the 18th, and Russia has threatened not to renew it if its demands are not met.
António Guterres sent a written proposal to Moscow and Kyiv to extend the pact, but has not yet received a response from the Kremlin.