Source: Russia, UN may mull future of grain deal soon

ANKARA, Jul 3 (PRIME) -- Russia and the U.N. may hold negotiations in Geneva in a few coming days to define the future of the Black Sea grain deal, a source familiar with the negotiations told PRIME on Monday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said earlier that Russia would pursue ending the deal on July 18, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there were no arguments in favor of prolonging the deal.

“Discussions between the U.N. and Russia are to happen in a few coming days, but no certain date has been chosen yet. It may happen in Geneva. These negotiations will define the future of the mechanism to the great extent, while there is no certainty on that now,” the source said.

Ankara is paying attention to Moscow’s statements on the grain deal, and understands the problems that Russia is facing. It is possible that Turkey and Russia would also conduct negotiations at different levels including the highest before the deadline of July 18, the source said.

Lavrov also said previously that Moscow was ready to send grain to the poor countries for free after the Black Sea Grain Initiative expires, while the source said that Turkey’s initiative to process Russian grain for further unpaid delivery to the poor countries may come to life.

“Yes, we are aware of the (Lavrov’s) statement. As you know, Mister President (of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan) earlier put forward the initiative of processing Russian grain into flour for further delivery to the poor countries during his talks with President of Russia Vladimir Putin,” the source said.

“I cannot make predictions here as everything depends on the situation with the grain deal, but I would not rule out that this initiative of the Turkish leader will acquire some certainty.”

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