Russia asks UN to lift sanctions on grain exports

Lavrov, who is visiting Egypt, confirmed that he had received guarantees from Guterres himself to negotiate these suspensions.

“The Secretary-General of the United Nations has volunteered to lift these illegal restrictions, and let us hope that he will succeed,” the Europa Press news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

Although the sanctions in question do not affect the export of Russian food – the agreement signed in Istanbul included a provision to lift warnings against exporting fertilizers – there are, in Lavrov’s view, a series of severe trade impediments hampering Russian participation in the agreement.

Accordingly, Lavrov called for another step to cancel the activation of “illegal sanctions that include insurance companies, the arrival of foreign ships to Russian ports and foreign ships,” according to statements compiled by Interfax.

In addition, the Russian Foreign Minister renewed “the commitment of Russian exporters of grain products to fulfill all their obligations”, which may be affected by the Istanbul Agreement.

Lavrov also emphasized that it would be Russian and Turkish forces that would ensure the safety of Ukrainian grain shipments when they were at sea.

The head of Russian diplomacy explained that “there will be controls to ensure that there are no weapons when the ships return to Ukrainian ports.”

Notably, Russia launched an attack on the port of Odessa on Saturday, one of the attacks mentioned in the agreement.

The attack was condemned by Western society and Ukraine, while Moscow asserted that it was a bombing directed exclusively against military targets.

On the other hand, Lavrov stressed that Moscow is ready to negotiate with Kyiv on “a wide range of issues”, although he noted that the resumption of negotiations does not depend on Russia.

“We have no problem in resuming negotiations,” he explained, noting that “the Ukrainian authorities, from the president to his countless group of his advisors, constantly say that there will be no negotiations until Ukraine defeats Russia on the battlefield,” according to Interfax. . .

Lavrov again blamed the United States and NATO for the refusal to negotiate.

“The more they demand that Ukraine fight to the bitter end – and we all know what the end will be and for whom it will end – the more people will die,” he predicted.

The Russian Foreign Minister is on an official visit to Egypt, where he met with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. He then plans to visit Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo in three days.