Russia says it is impossible to return to Black Sea grain deal right now
(VOVWORLD) -Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that it’s impossible for Russia to return to the Black Sea grain export deal until an agreement related to Russian interests is honored, rebuffing a call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for Moscow to rejoin the deal.
 A ship carrying grain travels along the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 3, 2022. (Photo: AFP/ VNA) |
Mr. Guterres on Monday urged Russia to resume allowing Ukraine to export grain safely from its seaports in the Black Sea.
But the Kremlin said Mr. Guterres' proposal did not address its main complaint: that there has been no progress on a related agreement designed to facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports amid Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
European Union agriculture ministers met Tuesday in Brussels to discuss Ukraine’s grain exports after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. One of the issues discussed was exporting Ukraine’s grain via overland routes.
EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski says the EU is ready to export almost any Ukraine agricultural product by land and might subsidize the transport cost.