UN, Turkey awaiting Western guarantees to extend grain deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Feb 08:57

Western countries are required to publicly declare guarantees that there will be no obstacles to transferring Russian agriproducts and ammonia.

Mountains of grain in a port in Ukraine (AFP)

The United Nations and Turkey are working on extending the current grain deal with Russia by securing Western guarantees that Russian agri-products and ammonia will not be interrupted from accessing the markets.

Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered agreement on July 22 to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships transporting food and fertilizer from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which was called the Black Sea Grain Initiative and is generally known as the Grain Deal.

The current deal version of the deal will expire on March 18 and will require the approval of the main parties consisting of Russia and Ukraine, in addition to Turkey and the United Nations who sponsored and secured the agreement.

"We want to get guarantees from Western countries that there will be no obstacles [on the output of Russian products and ammonia]. At the moment, there are obstacles in terms of logistics, insurance and payment. We would like to receive reinforced guarantees from Western countries that would be made public. This, of course, will help the smooth operation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative," a source informed on the negotiation process said to Sputnik

So far, no set dates have been discussed to extend the deal a source told Sputnik, noting that there are several options available.

"No, specific dates have not been discussed yet, there are various options. Now, a very complex process is underway, the discussion of the details of the further work mechanism," they said.

In the new agreement, Kiev wants to secure a one-year deal, unlike before when it was only extended for three months at a time.

"It is too early to talk about the timing," the source said commenting on Kiev's aim.

"I repeat, we are not at that stage now. These are various initiatives voiced by the parties. Everything will be decided at the negotiating table after discussing all the details and disagreements."