UN aims to extend grain deal for at least 2 months, expires next week
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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres proposes to Russian President Vladimir Putin to preserve the deal for a few more months until the EU manages to connect a subsidiary of the Russian Agriculture Bank to SWIFT.
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Exterior view of the grain storage terminal during the visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Odesa Sea Port, in Odessa, Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022 (AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov, File)
According to a source familiar with the grain deal talks to Sputnik on Thursday, the UN is aiming to extend the grain deal for another two months at the least, as its expiration nears next week.
The source added that Turkey will contribute to the negotiations with Russia.
Reuters cited sources that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres handed a proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to preserve the Black Sea Grain Initiative for a few more months until the EU connects a subsidiary of the Russian Agriculture Bank to SWIFT.
"Yes, there is such a proposal. We are familiar with its essence. It is proposed to extend the term of the Black Sea grain initiative for at least two months. We will wait for a reaction, we hope for a positive response, we will contribute to the negotiations on our part," the source told Sputnik.
Read next: Turkey proposes options to transfer Russian grain to poor countries
Ambassador at Large with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Olga Trofimtseva, said in June that Russia is unlikely to extend the grain deal this month.
"[As for] the grain corridor, 99.9% that Russia will abandon it in July," Trofimtseva wrote on Telegram.
On May 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the deal has been extended for an additional two months. But the future of the grain deal, which is set to expire on July 17, remains uncertain.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin warned earlier that July 18 may potentially be the last day of the grain deal initiative, joining other voices of top Russian diplomats making the same statements.
If Russia decides to withdraw from the deal, the impact will be on all participants and will eventually destabilize the whole market.
