Russia says 'no grounds' for extension of Black Sea grain deal

Russia sees no grounds for extending last year’s Black Sea Grain Initiative deal, which is set to expire in less than two weeks, the Kremlin said Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Moscow, said a Foreign Ministry statement, is “making the necessary efforts in strict accordance with the rules of procedure so that all vessels participating in it can successfully complete their mission and leave the Black Sea” before 17 July, when the deal expires.

Explaining the decision, the diplomatic service said the purpose of the deal was distorted as, instead of exports to Africa, the food was largely transported to “well-fed countries”, and there was no progress on the Russian part of the deal. The decision also cited last month’s blast, crippling the Togliatti-Odesa pipeline, built to carry exports of Russian fertilisers.

The Ministry said that the ammonia pipeline blast “was designed on the pattern of the Nord Stream gas pipelines explosion” last September, hinting that the same forces are behind both acts of sabotage.

Turkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were halted after the start of the Ukraine war in February last year.

READ: Black Sea grain corridor transported over 30.5m tons of grain

Last September, underwater explosions targeted the Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which delivered Russian natural gas to Germany and the European region through the Baltic Sea.

Moscow accuses the West, particularly the US, of being directly involved in the blasts. It called for an UN-led international investigation into the likely sabotage, but the request was rejected.

US media reports have suggested that Washington was aware of a Ukrainian plot to blow up the gas pipelines, but Kyiv has denied any involvement.

The Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline was used for transporting supplies of ammonia (a widely used fertiliser) from the Russian city of Togliatti (Tolyatti) to Ukraine’s port of Odesa, where it was loaded to vessels for further deliveries across the world. It was blown up on 7 June, with Russia and Ukraine exchanging mutual accusations.

Moscow claims Kyiv’s armed forces mined and exploded the infrastructure after UN officials increased pressure on Ukraine demanding the resumption of supplies of Russian fertilisers.

Meanwhile, Oleh Synyehubov, the Governor of Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region, said Russia’s shelling of the region caused the leak.

READ: UN tries to save Black Sea grain deal with ‘mutually beneficial’ proposal – source