'No grounds' to renew Ukraine grain deal, says Russia

The Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday (July 4) that Russia sees no basis for renewing Black Sea grain deal. The statement has come less than two weeks before the grain deal agreement expires. The agreement has allowed Ukraine to ship grain out of its Black Sea ports despite the ongoing war.

In its statement, the ministry has said that Russia was doing everything in order to facilitate departure of all ships covered by the deal from the Black Sea.

The grain deal expires on July 17.

Russia has, for long threatened to pull out of the agreement. It has been complaining that promises to remove barriers to its own exports of grain and fertiliser have not been fulfilled.

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In mid-May, Russia agreed to renew the deal for two months. But after that, it has repeatedly said that it sees no basis to extend the deal again.

In its statement, the foreign ministry said the Black Sea initiative had delivered Ukrainian grain to "well-fed" countries but failed to help those that needed it most in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The ministry said that the five poorest countries - Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia - received only 2.6 per cent of the grain shipped while the situation pertaining to the Russian grain and fertiliser exports "continued to worsen"

"Under these conditions, it is obvious that there are no grounds for further continuation of the 'Black Sea Initiative', which expires on July 17," the statement said.

Due to its massive grain output, Ukraine is often referred to as the 'bread basket' of the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine made it difficult for grain shipments to traverse the Black Sea. This had raised the spectre of a global food crisis.

A grain deal was then struck which ensured safe passage for grain shipments. The initial deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

No progress on demands, says Russia

Russia claims that it has seen no progress on its demands including for its state agricultural bank to be reconnected to the international payments system SWIFT.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that a reported EU proposal to create a subsidiary of the bank was 'unworkable'. The proposal suggests that the subsidiary could be admitted to SWIFT.

(With inputs from agencies)

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