Comments of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made in Cuba imply that Russia may not agree to the next renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative when it comes due in May. Lavrov said yesterday that restrictions introduced by the EU member-countries against supplies of Ukrainian foods to Europe confirm Russian assessments of the situation regarding the grain deal. At his joint press conference with the Cuban Foreign Minister, Lavrov replied to a question about the fact that Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary had announced a ban on Ukrainian grain imports.
“These developments confirm our well-known fundamental assessments. As distinct from the initiatives announced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who focused on the need to help the poorest countries, the grain deal in its Ukrainian aspect is predominantly commercial. As such, it is hardly of any help to the Third World countries.
“Ukrainian grain, offered, in fact, at dumping prices and with zero tariffs, is invading the European markets in circumvention of all phytosanitary requirements. This makes traditional grain producers in Europe itself sustain huge losses,” he began his reply.
Lavrov also said that the obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizers still haven’t been removed, as the deal calls for: “As for the other inalienable part of UN Secretary-General Guterres’s initiative, that is the removal of all obstacles to Russian fertilizer and grain exports, practically nothing has been done in this regard.
“We are pro-actively looking for opportunities for sending Russian food and fertilizers to the world markets. But all of this is done contrary to the UN Secretary General’s initiative rather than as part of it.” (https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1864716/)
