INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia stated Saturday that its contract with the United Nations to help with exports of Russian food and fertilizers had collapsed due to
Western sanctions over Moscows offensive in Ukraine.A day previously, the UN said the three-year contract, signed in 2022 in a bid to rein
in international food costs, would end on July 22
A source near the conversations, who asked not to be named, informed AFP the offer will not be renewed due to disagreements.The UN signed
the agreement with Russia on July 22, 2022, with the objective of assisting in exports of Russian food and fertilizers, regardless of
Western sanctions on Moscow.Russias Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that extending the deal was not imagined
Given the destructive line of Western capitals to increase illegal unilateral sanctions against Russia, none of the objectives [of the
arrangement] have been effectively finished, the ministry said in a statement.The economic sanctions imposed on Russia spared fertilizers
and grain, however worry of accidentally winding up on the incorrect side of the law had paralyzed transporters and triggered insurance
coverage premiums to skyrocket.After intense conversations, Russia and the UN established a framework to facilitate insurance and monetary
transactions that worked with U.S., British and European Union sanctions systems.But Russia the worlds largest fertilizer producer had
repeatedly complained the arrangement was doing little to secure it from secondary sanctions effects.Russias Foreign Ministry said on
Saturday that talks in between the 2 sides could continue for the sake of global food security
A second agreement was likewise signed under the auspices of the UN on July 22, 2022, targeted at enabling the export of Ukrainian cereals
blocked by Russias war in the country.That deal was viewed as more successful, however Moscow, outraged over continued barriers to trade in
Russian agricultural products, declined to extend it after it lapsed in July 2023.
