The Black Sea initiative will cease to function, if Russia does not receive guarantees of its demands until May 18. This was stated on Thursday by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin following the talks held in Istanbul on the grain deal between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.
Vershinin pointed out that if there are no guarantees for Russia, including on ammonia, the Black Sea initiative "ceases to exist." "Because an initiative that benefits only one party can hardly be recognized and confirmed by all. We are of course first and foremost defending the national interests of Russia, its agricultural producers and fertilizer producers. We also do it taking into account the overall situation on the global market, it's quite volatile," he said.
Vershinin urged not to get ahead of the issue of extending the grain deal, which expires on May 18.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You know that at one time it was decided that the last extension of the Black Sea initiative for 60 days, until May 18. There is still some time left. Of course, we are very closely following what is being done to correct the distortions and flaws of this initiative," he said.
Russia is against indefinite extension or expansion of the grain deal, which is advocated by a number of Western countries, Vershinin pointed out.
"We are against what many Western capitals are advocating, against its [the deal] extension or endless extension. We have to understand what is being done, including by us and participants in these arrangements," he said.
Vershinin said Russia will continue to push for its interests in the Black Sea initiative.
"We have sought, are seeking and will continue to seek it. Without this, there is no sense and interest for Russia's participation in any such events," he said when asked if technical guarantees can be created to ensure Russia's interests in the grain deal.
Vershinin also said that it is unfortunate that Ukrainian grain is not going to the neediest countries, but rather "to the countries that are well-fed or with high income."
Double standards
Vershinin said that Russia cannot tolerate double standards, when the spotlight in implementing the grain deal is given only to the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.
"We still face barriers. Russia expects active work from the UN representatives and implementation of statements from Western capitals. Ultimately, there should be no hypocrisy, no green light for supplies of only Ukrainian grain and agricultural products is given under loud stories about the need to ensure food security, and Russia's interests are completely relegated to the background. We cannot tolerate double standards," Vershinin said.
According to him, Moscow still faces serious obstacles to the export of its agricultural products and fertilizers, the statements sounding from Western capitals that Russia's agricultural exports and fertilizer exports are not subject to sanctions are not confirmed.
"In my opinion, today's and yesterday's discussions [in Istanbul] were useful in terms of setting the record straight in terms of the implementation of the Istanbul agreements. Naturally, we are guided by Russia's interests and the need to fight hunger and ensure food security. But it should be made clear that the statements that have been and continue to be made from Washington, Brussels and London to the effect that Russian agricultural exports and the export of fertilizers are allegedly not subject to sanctions have not been confirmed. Unfortunately, we still face serious barriers to our agricultural exports and fertilizer exports. This applies to transactions, it applies to logistical and transportation problems, insurance. So it is very important for us that the interests of Russia are fully taken into account and protected," Vershinin said.
The Russian part of the Istanbul agreements on grain is not implemented properly, no concrete results have been observed so far, Vershinin said. The diplomat recalled that the agreements signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, consist of two parts. "We say and said clearly and firmly this time that we are talking about mutually binding arrangements. The first part of the package consists of agreements on exporting Ukrainian grain from ports under Ukrainian control. And this part is being implemented well, confidently, during this time we have exported over 30 million tons of grain. At the same time the second part of the package, which is a memorandum between the Russian Federation and the United Nations, in our opinion, is not being implemented properly. We held consultations on this issue with the UN representatives in Moscow and Geneva. So far, we can say that a lot has been said and promised, and we appreciate the efforts of the UN and UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres]. However, there are no concrete results for us yet," Vershinin said.
Ship inspection
Vershinin said Russia takes vessel inspections under the grain deal extremely seriously and cannot compromise quality for the sake of quantity.
"Our team in the Joint Coordination Center works very professionally. We have to make sure that on the way in and on the way out after the loading, the ships operate as they should, that is, they carry the cargoes that are declared, and there are no violations in the documentation. So we conduct inspections based on a consensus set of rules, procedures that were laid out at the beginning. And we cannot compromise quality for the sake of quantity," he said.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS