MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: Russia is not waiting for yet more promises, but for the fulfillment of the original Russia-related provisions of the Black Sea grain deal for unblocking Russian agricultural exports, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Commenting on remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Washington would do everything necessary to ensure food exports from Russia if Moscow returned to the grain deal, Peskov said: "The Americans, if they want to, may help ensure that the part of the grain deal that concerns Russia is fulfilled. Not to promise to think about it, but to actually fulfill it. Once this is done, the deal will be rekindled immediately." According to Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly expressed this position.
The Kremlin spokesman also noted that the Americans are not required to provide any security in this area. "It was provided within the framework of the grain deal, without the Americans," Peskov pointed out.
The grain deal expired on July 17. Russia, which several times extended the initial July 2022 Istanbul agreements for establishing a Black Sea corridor for ships carrying Ukrainian grain, recalled that the Russia-related part of the deal, which called for removing obstacles to Russian agricultural exports, was never fulfilled. Moscow also pointed out that, although the Istanbul agreements envisioned providing food to the world's poorest countries, the bulk of Ukraine's grain actually went to wealthy Western countries.
