Russia says grain deal being implemented but shipments going to wrong destinations

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said Wednesday that the Black Sea Grain Initiative is being implemented but the grain is being sent to the wrong destinations.

In an interview with RT Arabic, Vershinin said that 41% of the grain is being sent to European Union countries and only 2.7% to the "poorest countries."

As for the Russian part of the deal, there are still obstacles in the way of agricultural and fertilizer exports, both in the form of sanctions and what is called "over-fulfillment of sanctions obligations" where banks, shipowners and insurance companies are afraid to work with Russian representatives, he said.

"That is why we have clearly formulated our requirements. We need concrete progress in the implementation of the Russia-UN Memorandum," he said.

Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February. The deal was extended for 120 days in November and for another 60 days in March.