By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A pact between Moscow and the United Nations for Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports is not being fulfilled and there are “lots of details” to be discussed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, said Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
“It’s a deal which includes two parts and both parts should be realized and fulfilled equally,” Maria Zakharova told reporters at the United Nations.
Russia has signaled that it will not allow a deal on the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain – agreed in July last year – to continue beyond May 18 because a list of demands to facilitate its own grain and fertilizer exports has not been met.
“We stress this problem and underlined our position many times and we’ll do it again and again,” Zakharova said. “There are lots of details and they will be discussed.”
The deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to help tackle a global food crisis that U.N. officials said had been worsened by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
To help persuade Russia to allow Ukraine to resume Black Sea grain exports, a separate three-year pact was also struck in July in which the U.N. agreed to help Russia export food and fertilizer.
During a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, Guterres urged the continued implementation of both deals.
“They clearly demonstrate that such cooperation is essential to creating greater security and prosperity for all,” he said.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun told reporters that Beijing would like to see the Ukraine grain deal continue: “Of course, that’s beneficial for the whole world.”
China is the largest recipient of grains from Ukraine under the Black Sea export deal. Zhang said he was hopeful and that China supports Guterres’s mediation efforts to keep the deal working.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
