Russia warned today the West that if obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports are not removed, Ukraine will need to export its grain via land routes and that Moscow will work outside the landmark agreement achieved through UN mediation on the export of grain

The deal to export grain through the Black Sea was a United Nations effort to ease a food crisis that predated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but was exacerbated by Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.

The agreement, initially signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN last year in July and extended twice, allows the export of food and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports of Odessa, Khornomorsk and Youzny/Pivdenii.

Although the West has not imposed sanctions on Russian food and fertilizer exports, Moscow says they are at risk from barriers — such as barriers to insurance and payments — which it says must be removed.

THE Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that if the West does not want to be honest about what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought to do with the deal, then Ukraine will need to use land and river routes for exports.

If the West continues to refuse to remove barriers to Russian exports, Moscow will work out of the grain deal, Lavrov said, speaking alongside his Turkish counterpart at a news conference in Ankara.

“If they do not have the desire to approach honestly what Mr. Guterres proposed and promoted so persistently, fine, let them continue to send these products from Ukraine by land, by rail or by river.”Lavrov said.

“And we will work, if necessary, outside the framework of this initiative. We have an opportunity to do this with Turkey, with Qatar — the presidents discussed related plans,” Lavrov said.

Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s largest agricultural producers and major players in wheat, barley, corn, canola, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil markets. Russia is also dominant in the fertilizer market.

Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture presented its plan to produce 120 million tons of grain in 2023, Interfax news agency cited a draft announcement.

After the grain deal was signed for a period of 120 days it has been extended twice, once in November and a second time in March, although Russia said the second extension was only for 60 days.

Russia has repeatedly said that any further extension of the grain deal would require meeting a number of its demands from the West, including the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT payments system.

Among the remaining demands are the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and parts, the lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, access to ports, the reopening of the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and the unfreezing of assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in food exports and fertilizers.