United Nations chief Antonio Guterres presented a "way forward" on extending Ukrainian grain exports during a meeting with Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York Monday, the U.N. said.
Guterres gave Lavrov "a letter to President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposed way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion" of the deal, a spokesperson for the Secretary General said in a statement.
An agreement has been in place since last July that allows Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea after they were blocked amid the conflict with Russia. The exports are vital for world food security.
A similar letter was sent to the two other signatories in the agreement, Ukraine and Türkiye, the statement added.
The accord, known the "Black Sea Grain Initiative," was renewed for the second time on March 19.
Rather than a 120-day renewal, Russia insisted on just a 60-day extension over objections to obstacles to its own exports.
Earlier this month, Moscow said a number of conditions must be met for Russia to extend it beyond May 18.
There are no sanctions on Russian exports of food and fertilizers to global markets but the problems are related to the secondary sanctions imposed on shipping and insurance companies as well as banks.
The Russian Foreign Ministry laid out a list of conditions for the extension of the deal, including allowing the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to reconnect to the SWIFT payment system.
Supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services also have to be resumed, the statement said.
Guterres said he "took note of the concerns expressed by Russia" regarding the fertilizers.
"We will study the ideas that (the secretary general) has given us on paper," Lavrov said in comments released by his ministry, adding that "so far, there has not been much progress."
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine's attacks on the Black Sea Fleet jeopardized the extension of the grain deal.
Investigations into the recent attacks on Russia's facilities revealed that Ukrainian unmanned vehicles launched these strikes from the port of Odessa, which is used for the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry noted that the strikes were carried out on March 23 and April 24 and that Ukraine used the humanitarian corridor, which is exclusively served for the purposes of the grain deal, to launch the drone attacks.
"The terrorist actions of the Kyiv regime threaten the next extension of the grain deal after May 18," the ministry said.
In October last year, Russia suspended the implementation of the grain deal after Ukraine's drone attacks on the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels, which, according to the ministry, were involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor.
The agreement was renewed after receiving guarantees from Türkiye and written commitments from Ukraine not to use the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports for military operations against the Russian Federation.
