GENEVA, Mar 14 Russia has not yet received an official response from the parties to its proposal to extend the grain deal for 60 days, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said at a briefing in Geneva .
«We have not yet received an official reaction from the parties. Our position was brought to the attention of the parties, yesterday the UN representatives were informed about it,» he said.
Earlier, Vershinin, after negotiations with UN representatives on the situation with the grain deal in Geneva, said that Russia did not object to another extension of the «Black Sea Initiative» after the expiration of the second term on March 18, but only for 60 days. According to him, Russia's further position will be determined depending on the real — not in words, but in deeds — progress in the normalization of Russian agricultural exports, including bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, unfreezing of financial activities and the supply of ammonia through the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline.
The grain deal, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, involves the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizer across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The Joint Coordinating Center (JCC) in Istanbul is responsible for coordinating the movement of ships. The contract expired on November 18, 2022, but meant an automatic extension for 120 days until March 18, if either party did not object. The Russian Foreign Ministry then stated that «no such objections were received,» at the same time noting that the Russian side allows the technical extension of the «Black Sea initiative» for the export of Ukrainian grain without any changes in terms and scope.
The grain deal itself is an integral part of the package agreement, which, among other things, provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, Moscow noted that this was precisely what was not implemented. At the same time, there were assurances from the UN that the restrictions would be lifted.