The Black Sea Grain Initiative has not yielded anything positive for Russia, the head of the Russian Grain Union said Monday, as the deadline looms to extend the deal.
Russia has repeatedly criticized the initiative – brokered last July by Türkiye and the United Nations – and said it would not be extended beyond May 18 unless a list of demands is met.
Moscow wants the West to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer, including the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT payment system.
Other demands include the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and parts, lifting restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, the resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline and the unblocking of assets and the accounts of Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer exports.
The agreement created a protected transit corridor to enable exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds.
Under the pact, Ukraine has been able to export some 28.8 million tons of agricultural products, including 14.6 million tonnes of corn and 7.8 million tonnes of wheat, according to U.N. data.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the continued implementation of the deal and a related pact in which the United Nations pledged to help facilitate Russia's own grain and fertilizer exports.
"They clearly demonstrate that such cooperation is essential to creating greater security and prosperity for all," he said at a meeting chaired by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The U.N. and Türkiye brokered the deal to help tackle a global food crisis that U.N. officials said had been worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the deadliest war in Europe since World War II.
The deal has allowed Ukraine to export over 27 million tons of grain from several Black Sea ports.
To help persuade Russia to allow Ukraine to resume Black Sea grain exports, a three-year pact was also struck in July in which the U.N. agreed to help Russia export food and fertilizer.
