The Russian delegation will meet in Moscow on Friday with Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Greenspan to discuss an international agreement on grain exports, Russian diplomacy said on Wednesday.
“On May 5, Moscow will host another round of consultations on the implementation of the memorandum of the Russian interdepartmental delegation with UN representatives and Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Greenspan,” the agency’s interlocutor said. Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova.
Earlier, a UN spokesman announced Greenspan’s visit to the Russian capital.
According to the UN, the purpose of the visit is to discuss the need to extend the agreement on the export of grain from Ukraine, as well as the export of food and fertilizers from Russia.
An agreement to export grain across the Black Sea was signed last summer between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by the UN and Turkey, and aims to address the flow of grain and food blocked in Ukrainian ports following the Russian invasion in February 2022.
In parallel, a memorandum was also signed to ease Russian food and fertilizer exports, a commitment that Moscow says is not being met.
The agreement was signed for a period of 120 days, and then extended for a second similar period until March 18. At that time, Russia decided to introduce a new extension period of just 60 days, a deadline that expires on May 18.
The Kremlin (Russian Presidency) warned on Tuesday that talks to extend an agreement to allow Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea are in jeopardy.
“Russia’s position is well known. The agreement has already been extended for another two months, but the window is closing. Go ahead,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Peskov returned this Wednesday to discuss the matter, saying there was “little reason to be optimistic” about the possibility of extending the agreement.
However, he assured that “contacts continue” and that Russia is “interested in fulfilling the terms of the agreement.”
At the same time, Peskov stressed that “Russia will not do anything that is contrary to its interests.”
According to Turkish authorities, the extension of the grain agreement will be discussed by the deputy defense ministers of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey at a meeting in Istanbul next Friday.
Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday there were no specific dates for the meeting yet.
The Russian military offensive into Ukraine, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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