WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2023) The United States will continue to press Russia to resume its participation in the grain exports agreement, formally known as the Black Sea Initiative, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.
"We're going to continue to press Russia to rejoin the Black Sea grain initiative," Miller said during a press briefing. "Unfortunately, we have as of yet seen no sign that Russia intends to return to the initiative."
Earlier on Monday, a source in the administration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Sputnik that Ankara continues its dialogue with Western partners on the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative and continues an interdepartmental dialogue with Russia as well.
Miller said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Turkish counterpart over the weekend about efforts to get Russia to return to the grain exports agreement and that the United States believes Turkey has a productive role to play in this effort, Miller added.
The Turkey- and UN-brokered agreement, which provided for a Black Sea humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year expired on July 18 because Russia did not renew its participation in it. Moscow said it reached the decision not extend the agreement because the provisions pertaining to exports of Russian grain and fertilizer were not implemented.
