WASHINGTON, November 18. /TASS/. Russia does not agree with allegations that Moscow made the decision to extend the grain deal because of external pressure, the Russian embassy in the US said on Thursday.

"We took note of the biased assessments by the US Administration officials of the readiness of the Russian side to allow the technical extension of the Вlack Sea initiative," the embassy's press service said in a commentary distributed by the embassy, "We fundamentally reject the thesis that this decision is due to external pressure. Even under illegitimate sanctions, imposed against our country, Russia remains a reliable supplier of agricultural products to the global markets".

The diplomats also noted that Russia, as a responsible party to the Istanbul agreements, continues "expect their strict implementation by all participants - inclusive of the terms regarding the removal of trade barriers for Russian agricultural exports". "We proceed from the fact that assurances by our Western partners and the UN will normalize the activities by our agricultural companies not only ‘on paper’, but also ‘in practice’. This would benefit, first of all, the countries in need, in whose interests the ‘grain deal’ was struck in the first place," the embassy summarized.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the grain deal was extended for 120 days. The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that it was automatically extended due to the absence of objections from the parties involved in the deal (Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN). Guterres welcomed the decision and said the UN was "fully committed to removing the remaining obstacles to food and fertilizer exports from Russia".

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 is valid until November 19, while the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center (JCC) established by Russia, the UN, Ukraine and Turkey is designed to conduct vessel inspections to prevent weapons smuggling or any provocations. The latter was signed by Russia, Turkey and the UN and separately by Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.