MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. The grain deal is unlikely to be extended in the current situation, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Friday.
"I wouldn't want to get ahead of myself right now, but to be honest, I wouldn't bet much on extending this deal right now in the situation we find ourselves in," he said during a Soloviev Live TV broadcast.
According to the envoy, the UN Secretary General is making the necessary efforts today, but so far there is "absolutely nothing to boast about". "The UN Secretary General and his staff, who are working on this deal, they are trying somehow, first of all, to level out this impression, which everyone has and continues to have, that the grain is going the wrong way from Ukraine. Plus, they are really trying the second part of the deal, which our former Western partners usually forget, to bring Russian food and fertilizers to the market. They are also trying to revive that part, and it really depends to a large extent not on them," the diplomat explained.
"I don't know if the Secretary General will eventually be able to do something, I’m talking about a qualitative breakthrough in terms of grain and fertilizer exports. So far, indeed, there is less and less time, there are very few practical results," Polyansky stressed.
A package of documents geared towards resolving the issue of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22 in Istanbul. Under the Russia-UN memorandum, the United Nations undertakes to work toward lifting anti-Russian restrictions hampering the exports of agricultural products and fertilizers. Another document envisages a mechanism of exporting grain from Ukraine-controlled Black Sea ports. An agreement between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations provides for the establishment of a four-party coordination center to search ships carrying grain in order to prevent weapons smuggling and avoid any false flag. The grain deal expires in November.