The key facts
- In an article for Kommersant, Lavrov accused UN Secretary-General Guterres of working exclusively for Kyiv during the grain deal
- According to the minister, only the Ukrainian part of the agreement worked in full, while obligations regarding Russian exports were not fulfilled
- The grain deal was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, and ceased to be in effect on July 17, 2023
Accusations against the UN Secretary-General
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the role of UN Secretary-General António Guterres in implementing the Black Sea grain deal. He set out his assessment in the article 'The Future Lies in the Democratization of International Economic Relations,' prepared for Kommersant; this was reported by Life.ru and Gazeta.Ru.
The essence of the claims
In the minister's view, a deal that was supposed to take the interests of several parties into account in practice turned into an instrument of support for Ukraine. Lavrov recalled that the Black Sea initiative envisaged not only the export of Ukrainian food but also the creation of conditions for the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. However, as he claims, only the Ukrainian part of the agreement worked in full, while Guterres, who was assigned a coordinating role, failed to secure the fulfillment of the second part of the agreements. 'He proved absolutely incapable of ensuring the implementation of the part of the agreements that concerned Russia's interests and worked exclusively for the Kyiv regime,' both outlets quote him as saying.
Criticism of the Western approach
Lavrov also pointed out that some Western representatives continue to reduce the discussion of grain issues to demands to ensure the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the Black Sea. According to him, such an approach ignores the original essence of the agreements and the interests of the Russian side.
Context of the deal
The grain deal was concluded by representatives of the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. The parties signed two documents: one on creating a corridor for grain exports from three Ukrainian ports, and another on removing barriers to the export of food and fertilizers from Russia. The agreement expired on July 17, 2023. In July of this year, Lavrov said that Russia had not received any proposals to resume the deal.
