Russia told a senior UN official on Monday that the extension of the Black Sea grain deal is contingent on the West easing restrictions on Russian exports of crops and fertilizers, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
At a meeting in Moscow, Alexander Fomin, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Martin Griffiths, told one of the UN Secretary-General’s agents that the extension of the deal, which allowed Ukrainian agricultural exports from its southern ports, “depends directly on ensuring the full implementation of all previously concluded agreements.”
Russia says the impact of Western sanctions on logistics, payments, shipping and insurance prevents it from exporting fertilizers and chemicals such as ammonia, and that easing those restrictions was an important part of the deal, which Turkey and the United Nations brokered in July.
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