Russia will extend its participation in the Ukrainian grain export deal if all parties involved fulfill their obligations, Russian Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.
“If the agreement is the same for everyone, we have always fulfilled our role and we will fulfill it,” Zajárova said in statements on public television.
At the same time, he warned that if this is a “scam” to get “what some need and forget the rest”, then Russia will not participate in the deal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week discussed the future of the grain deal and its link to the export of Russian agricultural products with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu.
“The continuation of the grain agreement will only be possible if the interests of agricultural and fertilizer producers are taken into account in terms of their unrestricted access to the international market,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. communicated about the meeting between the two countries. two diplomats on the sidelines of the G20.
Russia has threatened to withdraw its support for the grain export pact, which expires on March 18, if sanctions on Russian trade in agricultural products are not lifted, a request that Moscow links directly to this agreement.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said in mid-February that “without tangible results in the implementation of the Russia-UN memorandum, the design of the Istanbul package of agreements and the very extension of the Ukrainian document are not suitable”.