Western states are warned Russia likely not to extend grain deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Jun 2023 12:08
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Ankara and the UN stress that not extending the grain agreement will result in the rise of prices of agricultural products.

A harvester collects wheat in Rostov-on-Don region southwest Russia on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 (AFP)

Turkey and the United Nations warned Western countries that Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal remains a high possibility, which risks a price jump of agriproducts, sources informed of the matter told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"In these negotiations, we [Ankara and the UN] warn our Western colleagues that further negative processes in the grain deal will lead to an increase in prices for agricultural products, and in general a big problem with food security in needy countries," the source told the agency, adding that chances of Moscow ending participation in the grain deal in July [deadline for an extension] "remain high", but negotiations are still ongoing.

Read more: Moscow: West is burying Russian part of grain deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said last week that Russia believes that there will be no extension of the grain deal that will expire on July 18.

On June 22, Ambassador at Large with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Olga Trofimtseva, said she is 99.9% certain that Russia will abandon the deal in July.

Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered agreement a year ago to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships transporting food and fertilizers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

The initial 120-day agreement was extended once in November and was due to expire on March 18, but it was extended for two additional months and then another two on May 18, 2023.

On June 9, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin blamed Ukraine for a blast on a key ammonia pipeline and warned that it could affect the consultations to renew the grain export deal, as per RIA news agency.