BEIRUT, March 17. /TASS/. The deal on grain and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine corresponds to Lebanon’s interests, the country’s acting Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan told TASS, commenting on the decision to extend the grain deal by another 60 days.
"We are worried about the future of those agreements, because we have to import strategically important products, such as wheat, including from Russia," he said. "The government is interested in it, and assumes that, in the first place, this international agreement will benefit Lebanon.
The acting minister said that although his country imports wheat from a wide range of countries, the Lebanese government "would like to see the situation in the Black Sea returning back to normal."
"This is Lebanon’s principled stance regarding the crisis in Ukraine, and we hope that the outcome will be like that," he said.
Abbas Hajj Hassan said Russia and Ukraine "are global supplies of agricultural products, vital for food security."
"Of course, grain and fertilizers can be bought in the US, or, for instance, in India, but the price is the question," he said. "Today, we are all in the same boat, threatened by numerous storms, so food security should be treated with all seriousness."
The agreements on the export of food from Ukraine were concluded on July 22 for a period of 120 days. One of the agreements regulating grain exports from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. The other deal inked between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN provides for the establishment of a four-party coordination center whose representatives inspect grain ships in order to prevent arms smuggling and false flag operations. Additionally, Russia and the UN signed a memorandum, under which the organization was supposed to engage in efforts to lift anti-Russian restrictions preventing the export of agricultural products and fertilizers. The Russian side pointed out that the second part of the agreement was not being implemented.
On Monday, consultations were held in Geneva between Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan, UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, and a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin. Following the meeting, the Russian diplomat told reporters that Moscow was not opposed to extending the deal after it expires on March 18, though not for 120 days, as in November 2022, but for a shortened period of just 60 days. This, he said, would be enough time to carry out an objective analysis of whether the UN has delivered on its promises to have Russian food and fertilizer exports to the global market unblocked.