WASHINGTON, July 18. /TASS/. The United States and Kiev are discussing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s proposal to extend the grain deal without Russia, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
Zelensky said earlier that he has sent official messages to US Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where he suggested that the grain deal be extended or something similar be created in a trilateral format without Russia.
"President Zelensky has a proposal that he has made to the UN, we're in discussions with our Ukrainian counterparts about that and we're going to do everything we can to help Ukraine find a resolution to restore grain shipments," Miller said.
According to Miller, the US and its allies, including in the European Union, are discussing other options for Ukrainian agricultural exports. However, in his words, these ideas are " far from perfect."
A package of documents geared to resolve the problem of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul and extended several times since then before ultimately expiring on July 17. Russia refused to extend it again because the part of the deal envisaging the removal of obstacles for Russian agricultural exports has never been implemented. Apart from that, Moscow has repeatedly stressed that the bulk of grain that was meant to be supplied to the poorest counties was shipped to Western countries. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is ready to resurrect the deal but only after its part related to obligations to Moscow is fulfilled.