Restrictions on Russia’s agricultural exports and supporting infrastructure should be lifted, the deputy UN envoy has said
A combine harvests wheat at a field in Kiev Region on July 18, 2023. © Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP
Russia is ready to rejoin the grain deal brokered by the UN and Türkiye, but only on the condition that Western nations and Ukraine meet their long-standing obligations, Moscow’s deputy permanent representative to the UN said on Friday.
Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the Black Sea Initiative, Dmitry Polyansky noted that Russia’s decision to withdraw from the pact, which sought to unblock agricultural exports, “should not have come as a surprise to anyone” given that nothing has been done to address Moscow’s grievances.
The diplomat stressed that Russia recognizes the importance of the grain deal for global food supplies and is “ready to consider returning to it, but only… if all the previously agreed principles of Russia’s participation in this deal are fully taken on board and… implemented without exception.”
Listing Russia’s conditions, Polyansky insisted that sanctions on the country’s grain and fertilizer exports to global markets should be lifted “in practical terms rather than just in words” while all obstacles to Russian financial institutions involved in the sector must also be removed, including their reconnection to the SWIFT payment system.
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Russia should once again enjoy an uninterrupted supply of spare parts and components for agricultural machinery, the diplomat said, adding that all issues related to vessel freight and insurance of Russian food exports must also be resolved.
Another requirement, Polyansky continued, is that there should be no impediments to expanding Russian exports of fertilizer materials, including the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, which was seriously damaged last month. Moscow and Kiev have traded accusations as to who was to blame for the incident.
In addition, all Russian assets related to the agricultural sector must be released.
And as a seventh and final condition, the grain deal itself “must recover its initial humanitarian nature” and serve to alleviate food issues in developing countries rather than making rich countries even richer.
Moscow withdrew from the grain deal on Monday, with Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov describing the arrangement as a “one-sided game” and noting that none of Russia’s long-standing demands had been met.
Following the move, the Russian Defense Ministry said any ships sailing to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea would be “considered potential carriers of military cargo.” In response, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry accused Moscow of turning the Black Sea into a “danger zone,” issuing a similar warning to all vessels in the area bound for Russia.
