The "Grain Agreement" was signed in July 2022 and has been extended several times.
The proposals of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres regarding the "grain agreement" can be successful only in case of pressure on Russia from the international community.
This was stated by the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak in a Reuters comment on April 25.
The agency noted that Guterres, in a letter to the president of Russia's aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, outlined proposals for "ways forward aimed at improving, continuing and expanding" the agreement.
Podoliak said that Guterres' "absolutely justified" initiative can succeed only if the international community collectively exerts pressure on Russia.
The adviser noted that Ukraine will continue to adhere to agreements with Turkey and the UN and will deliver grain cargoes to their destination, "solving the problem of global food supply."
We will remind that Russia blocked the export of Ukrainian products from sea ports after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyі said that 22 million tons of grain, which was supposed to be exported, were blocked in Ukrainian ports.
On July 22, agreements on sea export of Ukrainian grain from three ports were signed in Turkey. Ukraine signed a document with Turkey and the UN, Russia mirrored the same.
The first vessel loaded with Ukrainian grain after reaching an agreement on unblocking exports left the port of Odesa on the morning of August 1. Thanks to the Black Sea "grain initiative", food prices have decreased, this has indirectly saved more than 100 million people from starvation, the UN said.
According to the UN, 28.6 million tons of grain were exported from Ukrainian ports during the "grain agreement".
On March 18, 2023, the UN confirmed the continuation of the "grain agreement". But the communique published on the organization's website did not specify the period. At the same time, Kubrakov reported that it was extended for 120 days.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated several times that the agreement has been extended for only 60 days, and further participation of the Russian Federation in it will depend on the fulfillment of a number of demands set by Russia.