ROME, May 15. /TASS/. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday that he foresees the risk of a new powerful migration wave from Africa due to the crisis in Sudan and in case the grain deal is terminated.
"Instability due to grain and food shortages of basic necessities will lead to a new wave of migration. We would not like to see this scenario (an end to the grain deal - TASS) because it would affect the lives of millions living in poverty. It would provoke a crisis in Central Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, which, together with the war in Sudan, threatens to aggravate the migration problem," he said in an interview the newspaper Il Messagero published on Monday.
He said Rome hoped for effective mediation in this matter by Turkey, which "remains an important partner in NATO and in maintaining stability in the Mediterranean" regardless of the outcome of the presidential elections in that country.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Vershinin told the media after negotiations on the grain deal by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations, which took place on May 10-11 in Istanbul, that the Russian part of the deal would stop working, if Moscow had no guarantees that its demands would be met by May 18. They concern exports of agricultural products and fertilizers, reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT and some other issues.
On July 22, 2022 a package of documents was signed in Istanbul on the supplies of foodstuffs and fertilizers to the international market. Initially, the agreements were concluded for 120 days. Last November, they were extended for the same period. On March 18, 2023 Russia announced that it would extend the deal for another 60 days. Moscow has repeatedly noted that a further decision on the extension of the deal depended on the implementation of the Russian part of the agreement and that the lack of progress on this issue threatened the future of this initiative. Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is part of the package of agreements involving the transportation of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports, 29 million tons have been exported since July last year.