Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that the West "shamelessly buried" the agreement to export grain through the Black Sea, while his US counterpart Anthony Blinken responded that Moscow had caused "deliberately and systematically" delaying grain shipments.

"The West is brazenly burying the well-known humanitarian initiative mediated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the "RIA Novosti" news agency during the meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Twenty in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in reference to the grain agreement.

For its part, the Russian "Tass" agency quoted Minister Lavrov as saying that many Western leaders have turned the G20 agenda into a farce, with the aim of shifting responsibility for their failures in the economy onto Russia.

Although Russia remains committed to the agreement, it has repeatedly criticized the West's approach to the initiative concluded last July, saying that the countries that imposed sanctions on Moscow are not doing enough to ease restrictions on Russian exports, especially fertilizers.


Blinken replied

At the same meeting, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Russia in the past few months has caused "deliberate and systematic" delays in grain shipments, while its exports of food, grain and fertilizer continue.

Blinken added that it is necessary for the G20 to speak out in order to extend and expand the grain initiative to enhance food security for the neediest groups.

It is noteworthy that the initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products across the Black Sea, which was mediated by Turkey and the United Nations, ends on March 18, and will be extended if no party expresses a formal objection.

And before the previous extension of the agreement in November, Russia also escalated its criticism of it in an attempt to obtain more concessions from the West, but in the end it allowed its extension by 120 days.


Extension of the agreement

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it would only agree to a second extension of the deal if the interests of Russian agricultural producers were taken into account.

Western sanctions did not target the Russian agricultural sector directly, but Moscow says that the sanctions affect payments, shipping and insurance, and thus constitute an "impediment" to its exports of grain and fertilizers.

The agreement allowed the export of about 20 million tons of grain after the Russian war against Ukraine in February 2022 prevented ships from leaving Ukrainian ports, as Moscow expressed concern about Ukrainian maritime activities.

In a related context, Ukraine announced that it had exported more than 22 million tons of agricultural products since the entry into force of the "grain corridor" agreement on August 1 of last year.

The coordinator of the Ukrainian Exporters and Investors Council, Olha Trofim Tseva, said that her country can export more food products if the seaports operate at full capacity, noting that the grain and oil crops amount to more than 18 million tons.