Guterres sends letter to Putin on grain deal extension
Baku, July 13, AZERTAC
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 11 proposing a way forward for implementation of the Russian part of the grain deal, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday, according to TASS.
"The objective is to remove hurdles affecting financial transactions through the Russian Agricultural Bank, a major concern expressed by the Russian Federation, and simultaneously allow for the continued flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea," he said.
On July 22, 2022, a package of documents on the supply of food and fertilizers to the international market was signed in Istanbul. Initially, the agreements were concluded for 120 days, in November of last year they were extended for the same period. On March 18, 2023, Russia announced a 60-day extension of the deal, warning that this would be enough time to evaluate the implementation of the memorandum signed with the UN. On May 18, the grain deal was extended for another two months until July 17.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that the extension of the grain deal was out of the question unless the Russian package of the Istanbul agreements was enforced, adding that the deal was still being implemented only regarding the supply of Ukrainian grain.
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