Representatives of the United Nations and the Russian government have resumed dialogue this Friday to try to extend the agreement that allows grain exports from Ukraine and which, in principle, expires on November 19. Since its signing in July, it has already facilitated the export of 10.1 million tons of grain.
Turkey and the UN acted as mediators in this unprecedented pact between Russia and Ukraine, in a context of war. Moscow withdrew for a few days following an attack on its fleet in the Black Sea, but returned after an intense round of contacts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The United Nations has summoned the Russian authorities this Friday for contacts in Geneva that the organization has described as «informal», in the words of a spokesman, according to the DPA agency. The Russian government is represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.
The UN has warned that the agreement is key to improving global food security and containing the collateral damage of the war in terms of supplies and prices. The coordination center monitoring the implementation of the pact from Istanbul estimates that some 70 ships are waiting to enter Ukrainian ports, with the capacity to take out some two million additional tons.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, on Friday avoided clarifying Moscow’s position on a possible extension, claiming that «such decisions are not announced» in advance, according to the TASS agency. «We need to resolve several issues (…) that concern us,» he has warned.
