MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2022) Russia believes that poor countries that urgently need food products should be able to receive them in accordance with the Ukrainian grain deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"As regards the grain deal, we have repeatedly reaffirmed our position. It is important that it (deal) is further implemented so that the poorest countries that need grain are able to receive it during this process," Peskov said.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a phone conversation, drawing attention to the need to implement the deal, including the removal of barriers to supplies from Russia to global markets.
On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed a UN-brokered initiative to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Black Sea ports. Three key Ukrainian ports � Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne � were unblocked to resume exports. The Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center was set up to monitor the implementation of the initiative, including ensuring that cargo ships do not carry unauthorized goods or personnel.
Since then, Russia has complained that the spirit of the agreements has been broken, with Putin repeatedly saying that most of the ships carrying Ukrainian grain did not make it to the world's poorest countries and ended up in Europe. At the same time, sanctions on transporting and insuring Russian cargo deter shipping companies from carrying Russian grain, Russian diplomats have argued.
