Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday the Western countries failed to remove the obstacles facing the exports of Russian foodstuffs and fertilizers to the global markets under the relevant Russian-UN memo.
The West failed to honor their obligations under the Russian-UN memorandum of understanding, signed parallel with the grain deal with Ukraine, he said in a phone conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
President Putin noted that the main aim of the UN-brokered grain deal was to ensure grain supplies to the countries in need, notably the African countries, but this objective was not achieved, according to readout of the call released by the Kremlin. Two days ago, the Russian leader stated that his country was ready to extend the deal which expires this Monday if the Russian gain and fertilizer exports resume unhindered under the memorandum. Putin stressed the need of lifting the Western sanctions on the Russian Agricultural Bank to allow Russian grain shipments as a prelude to the extension of the grain deal.
Putin’s conversation with Ramaphosa follows phone calls made by the latter with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the grain deal.
Guterres has recently sent a letter to Putin asking him to extend the deal, mediated by the UN and Turkiye and signed by Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in July 2022.
Source: Kuwait News Agency