The grain deal is extended for 60 days, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the briefing on 16 March 2023.
“The deal is extended for 60 days”, the diplomat said when commenting to the request of UN representative Stephane Dujarric, who recalled that the text of the deal provides for an extension of 120, not 60 days.
The agreements on the export of food from Ukraine were concluded in Istanbul on July 22 for a period of 120 days and were extended in November for another 120 days. One of the agreements regulating grain exports from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Besides, a Russia-UN Memorandum was signed to lift restrictions on export of Russia’s fertilizers and agricultural products to the global markets. Russia says the second part of the agreement is not being observed.
On March 13, Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, met with a high-level delegation from the Russian Federation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin. When speaking with journalists after the meeting, Sergey Vershinin said that Russia does not object to another extension of the 'Black Sea Initiative' after its second term expiration on March 18, but only for 60 days. According to him, this period is sufficient for an objective assessment of how the UN implements its assurances to unblock the exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the global market.