MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. Russia engages in a dialogue with the UN on the memorandum on shipments of Russian agricultural products, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told reporters.
"We have just held a round in Moscow. We maintain the dialogue itself," he said, answering a question on whether new meetings on this track are being planned.
The memorandum between Russia and the UN stated that the Organization would join the work on withdrawal of restrictions preventing the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizer. The agreement, reached by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, provided for the establishment of a four-side coordination center that would inspect grain-carrying ships in order to prevent arms smuggling and to rule out potential provocations.
The grain deal expired on July 17, 2023. Russia, who repeatedly prolonged the agreement on the Black Sea corridor for Ukrainian grain ships, reached in July, 2022, noted that the part of the deal regarding Russian exports has not been fulfilled. Moscow also pointed out that the agreements were aimed at sending food to the poorest countries, while the bulk of Ukrainian grain actually went to developed Western states. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia is ready to return to the deal, but only after its Moscow-related part is fulfilled.