G20 countries called on Russia to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative during their summit in New Delhi (India) on 1-2 March.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made such a statement, the CFTS portal reports, citing the BBC.

According to him, the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its extension are extremely important for curbing global food prices and combating food shortages, which especially affect poor countries.

Russia has blocked Ukrainian goods, mainly grain, in Black Sea ports since the beginning of the war, causing major problems on the world market.

According to Blinken, the Russian Federation uses the Black Sea Grain Initiative as an instrument for exerting pressure, and it has systematically and deliberately violated the terms of the initiative in recent months.

In response to the call by the G20, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would agree to an extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative only if the interests of its agricultural producers and fertilizer producers were taken into account.

According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was signed on 22 July 2022, provides for the export of not only Ukrainian grain, but also Russian agricultural products "as part of a single package." These are primarily Russian nitrogen fertilizers, which, according to the ministry, are not being exported.

It should be noted that the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s statements regarding restrictions on Russian agricultural exports are groundless because it is Ukraine that is suffering from the restrictions on the operations of its seaports while Russia is shipping record amounts of grain, flour, and crude oil through its seaports.

Regarding the requirements for the export of Russian nitrogen fertilizers, the Russian Federation used this as an instrument for exerting pressure during the negotiations on the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in November last year. Russia wants to relaunch the operation of the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, which passes through Ukraine. This will allow the transshipment of Russian ammonia in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port and its subsequent shipment through the Black Sea.