MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday it needed actions, not promises, from the United States to meet the conditions it has set for a return to the Black Sea grain deal.
Russia last month declined to renew the deal that had allowed Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports despite the war, saying not enough had been done to remove obstacles to its own exports of food and fertiliser. It said it was ready to return to the agreement as soon as those issues were addressed.
“If they want to contribute to fulfilling the part of the grain deal that is due to Russia, the Americans must fulfil it, not promise that they will think about it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“As soon as this is done, this deal will immediately be renewed.”
He was speaking after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday: “In the event of return to the agreement, of course, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to make sure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely to include Russia.”
Western countries have accused Russia of using food as a weapon of war by quitting the Black Sea deal, which had helped to bring down global food prices, and carrying out repeated air strikes in recent weeks on Ukrainian ports and grain stores.
Russia says the deal was not working properly as not enough grain was getting to the poorest countries. It says its own food exports, while not targeted directly, are hampered by Western sanctions affecting port access, insurance and banking.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
