MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. There are no grounds to extend the grain deal due to expire on July 17 against the current position of the West and silence of the UN, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

UN senior officials are keeping silence on two items "inconvenient" for the organization, the ministry said. These are the blowup of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and free deliveries of Russian mineral fertilizers to the poorest nations. At the same time, the West declares publicly that there can be no softening within the framework of anti-Russian sanctions, including for food and fertilizers. "It is obvious in such conditions that there are no grounds for further continuation of the Black Sea Initiative due to expire on July 17," the ministry said.

On March 18, Russia announced the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative by 60 days, until July 17. On June 30, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he did not see any justification for extending the agreements.