According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Moscow does not accept US claims that it has taken serious efforts to facilitate Russian fertiliser and grain shipments.
When asked about remarks made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the now-defunct Black Sea Initiative on Friday, the Russian official gave an answer.
The senior US ambassador declared on Thursday that his country had “taken steps to work through” the sanctions-related issues that Russia has with insurance and shipping. According to Blinken, among other things, Washington sent “comfort letters to banks” assuring them that dealings with Russia won’t result in negative consequences.
However, Peskov stated to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow was not willing to take Blinken’s word for it.
Despite assurances to the contrary from the West, Russian officials have previously said that the sanctions still hinder the trade in food and fertiliser. The UN’s pledge to ease those limits when the grain agreement was inked a year ago still stands as Moscow’s top condition for renewing the agreement.
Later on Friday, at a media conference call, Peskov stated that Washington “must deliver on that rather than make promises that they would think about it.”
According to Blinken, the US would “continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely, including Russia,” if the agreement was reinstated.
Peskov claimed that since these were included in the agreement without US influence, there should be no need for US safety guarantees. In the agreement, Turkey and the UN played a crucial role as middlemen between Russia and Ukraine.
