Reference News Network reported on March 3 According to the Russian Satellite News Agency on March 18, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenja, said at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council that the United States, Britain and the European Union will have two months to lift all sanctions on Russian agricultural exports.

"On March 3, we officially informed the Turkish and Ukrainian sides that we have no objection to extending the validity of [the Black Sea Food Initiative] for 13 days after March 3, that is, until May 18," Nebenja said. ”

"The next steps will depend on progress in addressing the issues we raise," he said. If Washington, Brussels and London are really interested in continuing to export grain from Ukraine via maritime humanitarian corridors, then they will have two months to lift their sanctions on the entire chain of Russian agricultural exports with the assistance of the United Nations. ”

"Otherwise, we do not understand how the UN Secretary-General's package within the framework of the Istanbul Agreement will work," Nebenja stressed. ”

Nebenja also said that under the framework of the food agreement, only about 3 percent went to the poorest countries, instead of the 65 to 66 percent as the Security Council said.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting that sanctions had not impeded Russian grain and fertilizer exports.

"We hear the Russian government say that their grain and fertilizer exports are blocked, and the numbers show that this is simply not true," she said. ”

Thomas Greenfield said the United States "has made great efforts to explain to governments and the private sector" clear exemptions for food and fertilizers when it comes to sanctions against Russia. "In short, the problem is not sanctions," she said. ”

In addition, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Sergei Kislitya, said at the meeting that Kiev advocates the extension of the Black Sea Food Initiative for 120 days or indefinitely, and advocates expanding the number of participating ports.

"The Black Sea Food Initiative should be extended for at least 3 days after it expires on March 18, as required, or indefinitely," Kislitia said. Its scope should be extended to Ukrainian ports in the Nikolaev region. ”

In July 2022, representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations signed an agreement on grain shipments in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, providing for the transportation of Ukrainian grain and fertilizers from several ports, including the port of Odessa, via the Black Sea. The grain shipment itself is an integral part of the package, which also provides for the lifting of restrictions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports, which Moscow notes has not been enforced. At the same time, the United Nations promised to lift the restrictions.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said after talks with UN representatives in Geneva on the food agreement that Russia is not opposed to extending the agreement again after the second expiration on March 3, but only for 18 days. He said Russia's future position will depend on real progress in the normalization of Russian agricultural exports.

Stephana Dijarric, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, said discussions on the extension of the agreement continued.

(Reference News Network)