Russia 'not optimistic' about Ukraine grain deal's extension: Official

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - Russia's deputy UN ambassador said Wednesday that he was not ''optimistic'' about the renewal of a deal brokered by Türkiye and the UN that allows Ukrainian grain and fertilizer exports.

''It depends what we get from this deal. So far, we’ve gotten very little,'' Dmitry Polyanskiy told Anadolu Agency. ''I would not be too optimistic at this stage.''

''The things that were promised to us are not being implemented...We want our part of the deal to be implemented,'' he said.

Russian authorities have complained that Western sanctions ''indirectly'' hinder the country’s grain and fertilizer exports despite the deal.

''There are indirect effects of the sanctions. There is over-compliance from Western companies, and there is a clear undesire of Western countries to rectify this situation,'' said Polyanskiy.

The deal was initially signed for 120 days and expires in November.

The United Nations is seeking to extend and expand the Ukraine grain deal for a year.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Oct. 17 that discussions will continue on extending and expanding the grain deal, also known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny -- for grain that had been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to address a global food crisis.

Polyanskiy also commented on claims about Russia using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine and said that Moscow will reassess its cooperation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres if he sends experts to Ukraine to inspect recovered drones which Ukraine and the West say are Iranian-made.

Ukraine's ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Iran and Russia in a letter sent to the UN Security Council of violating UN sanctions over Moscow's ''receiving shipments'' of Iranian-made ''kamikaze'' drones after Kyiv was hit by a series of deadly strikes and invited UN experts to visit Ukraine to inspect downed drones.