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Next two months 'crucial' now that grain deal extended, says Lavrov

Russia’s top diplomat also assured reporters that the grain deal was unrelated to the political situation in Turkey

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Russia has approved the extension of the grain deal for another 60 days, knowing full well that this period will be crucial, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference following talks with his Ugandan counterpart Jeje Odongo on Thursday.

"During my visit to New York in late April, [UN chief] Antonio Guterres <…> came up with another proposal on how to have his own initiative <…> implemented. As part of that idea, he recommitted himself to ensuring the implementation of the memorandum between Russia and the United Nations," Lavrov said. "Given the circumstances and requests from our partners, we supported President [of Turkey Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s initiative that he announced yesterday, to extend the deal for another two months, with a clear understanding that the next two months will be crucial," he added.

Russia’s top diplomat also assured reporters that the grain deal was unrelated to the political situation in Turkey.

"Originally, when [UN Secretary General] Antonio Guterres proposed the [grain] initiative, it was not tied to Turkey or any other specific country," Lavrov explained. He lamented that less than 3% of grain sent from Ukrainian ports to global markets reached the poorest countries.

According to Lavrov, Guterres certainly "understands his responsibility in implementing his own initiative <…>, under which the UN committed itself to removing all obstacles to the export of Russian fertilizers and food."

"He is doing his best, and we can see that; his employees are doing their best, too, as from time to time they contact those countries which imposed sanctions that impede normal exports of Russian agricultural products, but we have seen no result yet," the Russian foreign minister concluded.

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