ANKARA — Moscow will not return to a key Black Sea deal unless the West provides guarantees to facilitate Russian fertilizer and grain exports, Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
His remarks came after his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, who is paying a two-day visit to Moscow as Ankara and the United Nations are ramping up their efforts to coax Russia to return to the deal, which allowed grain exports from Ukraine, known as the world’s bread basket, to reach world markets.
Accusing the West of blocking Russian fertilizer and grain exports, Lavrov said the UN and Turkey were making intense efforts to revive the deal but that these efforts failed to bring any of the guarantees sought by Moscow.
“They say they will be faster, they will be more active. … But there is no single assurance in the messages conveyed to us,” Lavrov said during the joint press conference with Fidan. “We can implement the deal tomorrow if assurances come, but without assurances there can be no progress.”
