US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price made statements regarding the agenda at the daily press conference.
Black Sea Grain Shipment Initiative, signed between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN, with the initiatives of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres, for the safe shipment of grain and grain products of Ukraine to the world market via Turkey. Negotiations on the extension of the period of time were also on the agenda.
“The World Needs a Grain Shipping Initiative”
Stating that the signatories of the agreement will not enter into their evaluations regarding the negotiations, Spokesperson Price said, “We are at a critical point in the negotiations. The extension of the initiative requires the consent of all parties and the Secretary-General is working on it.”
Noting that their positions on the Black Sea Grain Shipment Initiative are clear, Price said, “The world needs this (Grain Shipment Initiative). We believe that its duration should be extended and its scope should be expanded.”
Denies Moscow’s claims that grain and fertilizer exports are blocked
Expressing that with the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the shipment of grain and grain products stopped in the region and this increased the food prices in the world by 30 percent, Price reminded that millions of tons of grain were sent to the world market with the cooperation of the UN, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.
Expressing that Russia’s grain exports have reached the pre-war level for a while, Price said that Moscow’s claims that grain and fertilizer exports were blocked are not true.
The spokesperson reminded that the US also exempts Russian grain and fertilizer exports from sanctions.