MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. In the spring of 2024, Turkey tried to restore the grain deal in an updated form, Russia was ready, but the agreements failed due to the fault of the Ukrainian side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with students and teachers of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

"This spring Turkey attempted to renew the agreement on the protection of food supplies in a modified format. We were ready. At the last minute, the Ukrainians said: 'Let’s write a clause - add to the obligations not to touch merchant ships the need to respect the safety of nuclear power plants.' It seems out of place, but we also said: 'Let’s do it.' [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan really convinced us that this would be a step forward, he was completely sincere and tried to be helpful. We agreed, but then the Ukrainians, who proposed it themselves, said they were not happy with it. Apparently, at that time they already had plans to bomb nuclear power plants," he said.

The grain deal was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, and expired on July 17, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that the West exported most of the Ukrainian grain to the Western states, while the main goal of the deal - supplying grain to countries in need, including African ones - was never implemented.