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| Europe |
| Grain Deal roundup: Five countries asked the EU to extend the period of restriction of Ukrainian grain imports |
| 2023-05-16 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [REGNUM] Romanian Minister of Agriculture Petre Daya said that, together with his counterparts from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, he sent a letter to the European Union with a request to limit the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, the Digi24 portal reported . Romania also requested an extension of the grain deal. “We will enter the harvest season, and farmers still have a large amount of grain in warehouses. These warehouses must be freed by capitalizing existing stocks so that we have space to store new crops ,” the Romanian minister said. Petre Daya specified that the proposed measure supports Romanian farmers who will no longer face competition from Ukrainian products. As REGNUM reported , the European Commission banned the export of grain from Ukraine to five countries of Eastern Europe from May 2 to June 5, but upheld the export permit to other EU states. According to the European Commission, during the specified period, grain from Ukraine can be freely sold in all EU countries, except for Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. At the end of April, Hungary called for maintaining the ban on the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine until the end of 2023. Budapest also wanted the European Commission to compensate for the cost of transporting these goods through Eastern Europe. In May 2023, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that the EU decision to send Ukrainian agricultural products to Europe contained a double mistake : African countries did not receive much-needed grain and other products, and farmers in Europe began to suffer due to dumping prices. More from regnum.ru Nebenzya said there was no progress in the grain deal for Russia Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Nebenzya said there was no progress in the grain deal for Moscow Russia is still not allowed to export food and fertilizer, despite the terms of the grain deal. This was stated on May 15 at a meeting of the UN Security Council by Russia's permanent representative Vasily Nebenzya . “For almost a year now, we have not seen the slightest progress in the second part of the package deal,” he said. Nebenzya noted that the deal only works within the framework of Ukrainian exports, while Russian exporters are still under sanctions. So far, there are no prospects for their weakening. The permanent representative pointed out that Rosselkhozbank also remained under restrictions, which should be engaged in financial transactions to ensure the export of agricultural products. So far, Washington and Brussels have promised to only allow one-time transactions. Nebenzya said that even these promises are "ridiculous," although they are talked about as a solution to the problem. As REGNUM reported , on May 15, the UN World Food Program (WFP) issued a statement calling for another extension of the grain deal. This issue has been discussed in Istanbul since May 10 by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN. Earlier, Moscow said that they would not extend the deal if they did not achieve a solution to the problems of the Russian side. Russia has repeatedly noted that Ukraine is allowed commercial transactions, while Russian suppliers are prohibited from supplying free products to countries in need. Yet more from regnum.ru Nebenzya accused the “well-fed West” of depleting Ukraine’s agricultural reserves As part of the Black Sea grain deal, Ukrainian agricultural products were exported mainly to rich countries, and less than 3% went to the poorest countries. This was stated on May 15 at a meeting of the UN Security Council by Russia's Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya. “For almost a year, Ukraine’s agricultural reserves have been depleted by the already well-fed West,” he said. The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation noted that 40% of Ukrainian products went to the EU countries. The volume of food supplies to African countries began to grow only in March 2023, thanks solely to the efforts of Moscow, the only party that fought to ensure that African countries were a priority in supplies. Nebenzya added that Russia is not allowed to supply fertilizers to other countries, despite the terms of the grain deal. Kyiv refuses to even discuss the issue of unblocking the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline. “The export of ammonia was supposed to be launched in parallel with the export of grain, but this did not happen,” said the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation. He also noted that the Ukrainian side is constantly putting forward new conditions that were not provided for by the grain initiative. Earlier, Nebenzya noted that the grain deal has been going on for almost a year, but so far there has not even been any progress towards fulfilling the conditions of the Russian Federation . The US and the EU do not lift sanctions from Russian exporters, as well as from Rossselkhozbank, which provides financial support for the export of agricultural products. Representative of the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric noted on May 15 that the deal ends on May 18. Until that time, it is planned to hold negotiations on its extension. The Russian side has repeatedly stated that it will not extend the Black Sea initiative until it achieves its interests. |
| Posted by:badanov |