MOSCOW, July 21There was no reaction from China to the termination of the grain deal, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.
«There were no reactions. We had regular contacts with the Chinese side. There were no contacts. The Black Sea Initiative eventually became a kind of «commercial initiative». It was about commercial transactions,» Vershinin said at his briefing, answering a question from journalists whether there was any reaction to the termination of the grain deal from China, which was one of the largest buyers of grain under this deal.
Russia on July 17 notified Turkey, Ukraine and the UN that it was opposed to extending the grain deal. This means the withdrawal of Russian guarantees for the safety of navigation and the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor in the northwestern Black Sea. For this area, the regime temporarily dangerous for navigation is being restored. Thus, without the participation of Russia, the Black Sea Grain Initiative ceased to function on July 18. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country's participation will be resumed only after the Russian conditions for its implementation are met.
The Black Sea Initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, involves the export of Ukrainian grain and food, as well as fertilizers across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The coordination of vessel traffic is handled by the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul. Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that the West exports most of the Ukrainian grain to their own states, and not to needy countries in Africa. The grain initiative is an integral part of the package agreement.
The second part — the Russia-UN memorandum, designed for three years — provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, among the main tasks were the reconnection of the Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and a number of other measures. As noted in Moscow, this part of the package agreement was not implemented.