Russia’s government has said it does not hold out much hope of full implementation of the Black Sea Agreement, which has allowed the export of grain, fertilizer and vegetables across the Black Sea strait since Moscow’s invasion of Kiev began. However, for months the Russians have declared their dissatisfaction with the agreement, accusing it of benefiting only the Ukrainians.
According to Vladimir Putin’s government spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, “there is still time, but there is not much hope” regarding a possible solution to prolong the agreement, which will expire in less than three weeks. “For now we have nothing to report on compliance with the part of the agreement that refers to the Russian side,” the Kremlin spokesman said at a press conference.
Last Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he sees no arguments for prolonging the grain deal. “I don’t see what arguments those who want to extend the validity of this Black Sea initiative have, because as far as Ukrainian grain is concerned it has long since become a trade initiative,” Lavrov said.
During the course of June, the Russian Foreign Minister announced that Russia decided to send 30,000 tons of grain to Kenya after ensuring that the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine, and has been supported by the Turkish government and the United Nations Organization (UN) extended for two months.
Russia undertook to ship this cargo to the African continent as a measure to avoid wasting the Russian grain crop, a proposal Putin had made during a conference for trade deals with several African countries. “As far as Kenya is concerned, literally in a matter of days a cargo of 30,000 tons of fertilizers will arrive at the port of Mombasa,” Lavrov said from Kenya, where he held several meetings.
The Moscow authorities affirmed that it was a response to recent statements by the Kremlin in which they affirm that the refusal of the European Union to reestablish the connection of the bank Rosseljozbank to the SWIFT system of Europe cast doubt on the continuity of the Black Sea Agreement. Given this, Dmitri Peskov did not want to comment on Monday.
With information from EFE
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