MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin has discussed the course of implementation of package agreements within the framework of the grain deal, as well as the state of affairs in Syria, with his Turkish colleague Burak Akcapar, according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday following the April 3 conversation.
"The parties focused on the implementation of package agreements concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, the Black Sea initiative on supply of Ukrainian food and the Russia-UN memorandum on normalization of home country's agriculture exports. It was noted that only full and fair implementation of both agreements with due regard to each other will facilitate the mitigation of global food security threats and support of the most vulnerable countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America," the ministry said, adding that "the current situation in Syria and around it was given special consideration."
The sides stressed the necessity of stepping up the range of international humanitarian assistance to those affected by the severe earthquake on the Syrian-Turkish border on February 6, according to the ministry. "The parties noted the importance of ensuring a wide humanitarian access, providing help to all in need without politicization, discrimination or preconditions," the statement reads.
Agreements on the export of food from Ukraine were concluded on July 22, 2022, for 120 days and extended in November for the same period. One of the agreements regulates the order of grain supplies from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Moreover, a memorandum was inked by Russia and the UN on lifting restrictions on export of Russian agriculture products and fertilizers to global markets. Moscow notes that the second part of the agreement is not implemented. On March 18, Russia announced an extension of the deal for 60 days, warning that such a period would be sufficient for estimating the memorandum’s execution with the UN.