Earlier this month, the Kremlin announced on Thursday that Russia has not yet decided whether its participation in the pact permits the shipment of Ukrainian pharmaceuticals over the Black Sea.
“We will need to provide a thorough evaluation of the success of the accord before deciding on the extension,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. On November 19, the agreement that Turkey and the UN reached in July is scheduled to be extended.
Moscow’s return “does not suggest,” according to Peskov, that it will opt to extend the agreement.
He added that Russia has documented the guarantees of Ukraine not to use the humanitarian corridor for military targets only because Turkey has mediated in it, praising the role of Ankara in securing these guarantees.
Ukraine said today that it had not pledged any new obligations that exceed the conditions for the export of grain export across the Black Sea signed in July to persuade Russia to resume its participation in the agreement.
On Saturday, Russia ceased taking part in the deal supported by the UN, claiming that its Black Sea fleet had been attacked.
Yesterday, on Wednesday, Moscow resumed its participation. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that it had secured pledges from Ukraine that it would not use the route for exporting grains across the Black Sea in military operations against Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nicholinko, in a statement on Facebook, said that Kyiv has not provided anything new to Russia to ensure her return to the agreement aimed at allowing the export of Ukrainian grains after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
According to Nicolinko, “Our government has not committed to any new commitments that are not previously included in the grain export deal.”
Added him: “Keep in mind that the parties to this agreement (which was signed in July) are required to guarantee the provision of a secure working environment for the grain export corridor. Ukraine has never put the grain export route in peril.”
He asserted that Ukraine has made it apparent that it will abide by the conditions of the deal.
The Russian delegation has resumed work at the centre that manages the transmission of grain over the Black Sea and is based in Istanbul, according to the Joint Coordination Center’s General Secretariat, and the delegation took part in ship inspection activities today, Thursday.
She continued by stating that there are presently more than 120 ships in line for inspection operations, with the majority of them being ships that will begin as domestic flights.
The decision to prolong the Ukrainian grain export deal has not yet been made by the Kremlin.
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