TOKYO, July 17. /TASS/. Russia has every grounds not to extend the Black Sea grain deal and will not sustain any particular damage from withdrawing from it, Hironori Fushita, associate professor in the Russian Studies Department of the Foreign Studies Faculty at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies and research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, told TASS on Monday.
"The probability is rather high that the deal will not be renewed," the expert said. "Its conditions in respect of Russia are not observed; not a single requirement of Moscow was put into [effect]. This pertains to the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system, supplies of spare parts for agricultural machinery, exports of Russian ammonia and so on. There is no sense under such conditions for Moscow to remain in the deal. There are also no guarantees that its requirements will be met if this agreement is extended," Fushita noted.
"It is extremely unlikely Russia will suffer any damage from a deal exit. Its grain exports are fairly normal even without that," the expert noted. Moscow will be able to mitigate discontent among Global South countries over probable food price hikes by fulfilling its initiatives to provide free grain and fertilizers to the neediest countries, he added.
"If the deal is not renewed, grains from Ukraine will flow to global markets over land transport corridors in higher volumes. This may cause even more significant problems in the European Union. Such supplies give rise to resistance in Eastern European countries even without that, because they drive down prices for local products. This may lead to a disorder in the EU on the matter of further help to Ukraine," the expert said.