Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, told Reuters that Moscow could withhold support for the UN-backed grain deal’s renewal next month if the UN doesn’t address its concerns.
Russia demands that the UN helps with "allowing the exports of Russian grains and fertilizers." However, the U.S. and Europe did not target Russian grain and fertilizer exports by sanctions imposed due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his team are working on an expanded Black Sea Grain Initiative, a four-month-long agreement between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN.
The deal was signed on July 22 in Istanbul to alleviate a global food crisis over Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports. Since then, over 300 vessels left Ukrainian Black Sea ports with 6.9 million metric tons of grain for Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
