Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the West of "shamelessly burying" the Black Sea grain initiative that facilitates the export of Ukraine's agricultural products from its southern ports, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
While remaining in the agreement, Russia has repeatedly railed against the West's approach to the deal, struck last July, saying countries that have imposed sanctions on Moscow are not doing enough to ease restrictions on Russia's own exports, in particular of fertilizers.
"The West is shamelessly burying the well-known humanitarian initiative of the United Nations secretary-general," RIA quoted Lavrov as saying at a G-20 foreign ministers' meeting, in reference to the grain deal.
Speaking at the same G-20 meeting in India, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia had in the past few months "deliberately and systematically" created a backlog of grain shipments while its own food, grain and fertilizer exports are ongoing.
"It is imperative the G-20 speak up on behalf of extending and expanding the grain initiative to strengthen food security for the most vulnerable," Blinken said.
Russia said on Wednesday it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye last year, expires on March 18 and cannot be extended unless all parties agree. Russia has already signaled it is unhappy with aspects of the deal.
Russia's agricultural exports have not been explicitly targeted by Western sanctions, but Moscow says restrictions on its payments, logistics and insurance industries are a "barrier" to it being able to export its own grains and fertilizers.
Moscow's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Lavrov had discussed the prospects for renewing the deal at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the G-20 in New Delhi.
"(The) Russian side stressed that continuing the package agreement on grain is possible only if the interests of Russian agricultural and fertilizer producers in terms of unhindered access to world markets are taken into account," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian grain traders union, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA), meanwhile, asked the government on Wednesday to provide transparent rules on how cargo ships should wait before loading at Ukrainian Black Sea ports under the deal.
"It is extremely important that work in Ukraine is open and transparent," the UGA said in a statement.
The UGA proposed changing the system for the waiting list of ships so that it is organized on a monthly basis by stevedores or terminals rather than by vessels. The priority should go to vessels registered on the list as of Feb. 9, it said.
The union also said terminals should provide the Ukrainian seaport authority every two weeks with a detailed plan of ship movements for passing on to the Joint Coordination Centre in Türkiye which oversees implementation of the deal.
The UGA also proposed allocating a ship quota for each operator, making it public in advance and prohibiting any changes to the established waiting list in terms of quota distribution to terminals.
"One of the main tasks of the state is to create procedures and rules that will ensure the country's sustainable development. One of these rules is free access to markets and the creation of a competitive environment," the UGA said.
The Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday the country's grain exports so far for the 2022/23 season were down almost 26% at 32.3 million tons, hit by a smaller harvest and logistical difficulties caused by the Russian invasion.
A Ukrainian government source said this week Kyiv had sent an appeal to the U.N. and Türkiye to start negotiations on extending a grain export deal, but so far there has been no response.
