Efforts To Resolve Outstanding Issues With Grain Deal Continue - Guterres

Umer Jamshaid Published May 23, 2023 | 08:41 PM

Issues remain with the implementation of the Black Sea grain deal after the agreement was extended for another two months, and the parties continue to discuss them, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd May, 2023) Issues remain with the implementation of the Black Sea grain deal after the agreement was extended for another two months, and the parties continue to discuss them, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

"I welcome the Russian Federation's confirmation that they will continue to participate in the Black Sea Initiative for another 60 days but outstanding issues remain, and representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will keep discussing them," Guterres told a UN Security Council meeting. "Looking ahead, we hope that exports of food and fertilizers, including ammonia from the Russian Federation and Ukraine will be able to reach global supply chains safely and predictably."

Last week, the grain deal was extended until July 17 without any changes. The Russian Foreign Ministry has warned that if the problematic issues with the deal, including Moscow's demand to reconnect the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system, are not addressed within two months, the deal will be terminated after July 17.

In an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper, spokesman for EU foreign affairs Peter Stano said that the bloc may restore access of Russian banks, including the Russian Agricultural Bank, to SWIFT only after the conflict in Ukraine ends.

The grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 to facilitate exports of Ukrainian agricultural products from Black Sea ports during the hostilities that began in February of that year. The package agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding between Russia and the UN to unblock Russian grain and fertilizer exports via the Black Sea, which, according to Moscow, has not been implemented due to Western sanctions.