Moscow [Russia], July 14: Russian President Vladimir Putin said any extension of a soon-to-expire deal that allows critical grain supplies to be exported from Ukrainian ports remains dependant on whether Moscow's demands are fulfilled.
"We are thinking about how to proceed, there are still a few days," Putin said in an interview with state television published on Thursday by pro-Kremlin reporter Pavel Zarubin on Telegram.
He said there was a possibility of suspending Russia's participation in the agreement until the promises made to Moscow under the deal were actually realized.
After starting the war, Russia blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports for months, preventing the export of sea-borne grain, prompting fears of soaring prices or famine in some areas as Ukraine is one of the largest suppliers of grain worldwide.
In July 2022, the United Nations and Turkey brokered an end to the blockade by establishing the grain agreement, freeing millions of tons of grain and other foods.
The deal was extended in May by two months. It expires on Monday.
Moscow has insisted from the start that in exchange for its cooperation it wants obstacles to exports of Russia's own food and fertilizer lifted. The Kremlin, in particular, is seeking relief from Western sanctions on payments,
logistics and shipping insurance.
"Nothing, I want to stress this, absolutely nothing has been done," Putin complained in the interview.
On Wednesday, it had become known that UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres had written a letter to Putin in which he appealed for the agreement to be saved.
Putin said that he had not yet seen the letter.
Source: Qatar Tribune