Talks on grain deal held between Russian, Turkish officials

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin discussed a Black Sea grain deal with his Turkish counterpart Burak Akcapar in a phone call on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, ahead of the deal's possible expiration on Monday.

According to the ministry, the conversation was initiated by Turkiye, and "special attention was paid to the implementation of the 'Black Sea initiative' on the export of Ukrainian food".

Also on Wednesday, Vershinin held a phone call with top United Nations trade official Rebeca Grynspan.

The UN and Turkiye brokered the grain initiative with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help alleviate a global food crisis worsened by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's leading grain exporters.

A key demand by Moscow to extend the deal is the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, to SWIFT. It was cut off by the European Union in June last year over the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that Moscow can allow the Black Sea grain deal to continue for several months to give the EU time to connect a Rosselkhozbank subsidiary to SWIFT, two sources familiar with discussions told Reuters.

During a visit to Brussels on Thursday, Guterres told reporters that he had yet to receive a response from Russia. He said his letter to Putin contained "concrete proposals".

According to TASS news agency, Putin said he had not seen the letter from Guterres proposing an extension of the deal. He said nothing had been done to meet Russian demands.

"I want to emphasize that nothing was done, nothing at all. It's all one-sided," Putin said in a televised interview.

"We can suspend our participation in the deal, and if everyone once again says that all the promises made to us will be fulfilled, then let them fulfill this promise. We will immediately rejoin this deal," he told Russian state television.

A Kremlin spokesman later said Russia has not made a final decision on whether to exit the grain deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday and that they both agreed it was "vital" to extend the Black Sea deal.

Agencies via Xinhua