MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. At the G20 summit, Russia supported an extension of the grain deal on the condition that shipments to countries in need are controlled, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview with RT.
""[Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the summit, said that we favor extending the grain deal, but we also support [the idea] that the grain supplied under the Black Sea agreements goes precisely to the countries that need supplies, and not to Western countries and countries with European economies, as is happening now. We spoke in favor of continuing this deal under the condition of controlling grain dispatch points so that this grain goes to countries that really need it," he said.
The minister noted that many topics were discussed at the summit that directly concern Russia, including the issues of energy, grain exports, healthcare and digitalization. He also said that Russia supported the removal of all barriers that hinder the export of Russian energy resources.
Siluanov added that the Russian delegation at the summit did not feel any exclusion. "Not a single key issue was discussed without Russia, since our country is an important part of the global economy and no issue can be resolved without our country," he said.
Agreements on the export of food from Ukraine were concluded on July 22 for a period of 120 days. They are effective until November 19 and will be renewed automatically for another 120 days, if none of the parties (Russia, the UN, Ukraine, Turkey) is against it. One of the agreements regulates the order of grain supplies from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. The Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center (JCC) set up by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN is tasked to inspect bulk carriers to prevent weapons smuggling and provocations.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told reporters earlier that the issue of the extension of the grain deal had not been solved yet. Later, as the ministry reported, Vershinin noted the necessity to fully implement the terms of the grain deal at a meeting with the head of the EU’s representative office in Moscow.