Russia sees 'no prospects' for extension of Black Sea grain deal

Russia has said that it sees no prospects for extending the crucial wartime Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire in mid-July, Russian news agencies reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it was continuing consultations with the United Nations and that ship inspections had resumed. RIA news agency said a new round of Russia-U.N. talks would take place in Geneva on June 9.

Turkiye and the UN brokered the breakthrough initiative with Russia and Ukraine last July, opening a path for Ukrainian grain exports from three of its key Black Sea ports: Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny, which had been blockaded by Russia since the start of its invasion.

To help convince Russia to back the deal, a three-year pact was also struck in which the UN agreed to help Moscow carry out its food and fertilizer shipments.

Moscow has repeatedly threatened to quit the deal, complaining that obstacles remain to its own exports of food and fertilizer.

It also demands the reopening of a pipeline carrying ammonia from Russia to the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Pivdennyi – known in Russian as Yuzhny – for export to global markets and the reconnection of its agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international payment network.

Following Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s major breadbasket, global food prices skyrocketed, hitting poorer, developing countries especially hard.

To reinforce the export of its fertilizer, Russia in March unilaterally decided to renew the grain deal for 60 days instead of the 120 days outlined in the agreement. And just before its expiration, in another example of Moscow’s brinkmanship, it agreed on May 17 to another two-month extension until July 17.