Exclusive: Russia is prepared to quit Black Sea grains deal, writes to UN with demands - Reuters

GENEVA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Moscow has submitted concerns to the United Nations astir an statement connected Black Sea atom exports, and is prepared to cull renewing the woody adjacent period unless its demands are addressed, Russia's Geneva U.N. ambassador told Reuters connected Thursday.

The agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey successful July, paved the mode for Ukraine to resume atom exports from Black Sea ports that had been unopen since Russia invaded. Moscow won guarantees for its ain atom and fertiliser exports.

The statement helped stave disconnected a planetary nutrient crisis: Russia and Ukraine are 2 of the world's biggest atom exporters and Russia is the fig 1 fertiliser exporter. But Moscow has repeatedly complained astir its implementation, arguing it inactive faces trouble selling fertiliser and food.

In an interrogation with Reuters, Gennady Gatilov, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations successful Geneva, said Moscow had delivered a missive to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres connected Wednesday mounting retired a database of complaints. U.N. officials are owed successful Moscow connected Sunday to sermon the renewal of the agreement.

"If we spot thing is happening connected the Russian broadside of the woody – export of Russian grains and fertilisers – past excuse us, we volition person to look astatine it successful a antithetic way," helium said.

Asked if Russia mightiness withhold enactment for the grains deal's renewal implicit the concerns, helium said: "There is simply a possibility...We are not against deliveries of grains but this woody should beryllium equal, it should beryllium just and reasonably implemented by each sides."

Gatilov declined to marque a transcript of the missive available.

U.N. speokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: "We stay successful changeless interaction with Russian officials, arsenic good arsenic with officials from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States successful bid to region the past obstacles to facilitate the export of Russian atom and fertiliser."

He said Guterres was committed to those efforts and to having an extended and expanded Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Gatilov, a vocation diplomat who was lawman curate of overseas affairs earlier taking up the Geneva post, said that helium saw fading prospects for a negotiated colony to the astir 8 period warfare successful Ukraine. He cited what helium called "terrorist acts" specified arsenic an detonation connected a span to Crimea.

"All this makes it much hard to scope a governmental solution," helium said.

Washington has said that Russian claims to beryllium unfastened to talks connected the war's aboriginal magnitude to "posturing" arsenic it continues to onslaught Ukrainian cities. work much

Asked astir the imaginable of a gathering betwixt President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden, Gatilov said it was not feasible fixed the levels of U.S. subject enactment for Ukraine. "It makes the U.S. a portion of the conflict," helium said.

However, helium was much upbeat connected different negotiated outcomes specified as connected assistance entree and a further captive swap, calling these "a possibility". He said a delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross had met with Russia's defence ministry successful Moscow precocious astir a imaginable swap, without giving further details. The ICRC did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Reporting by Emma Farge Editing by Peter Graff

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