MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - Russia will prolong the grain deal when all promises given earlier are fulfilled, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Putin said he has not seen UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' letter on the grain deal yet.
"They are telling us prolong [the grain deal] once again. We can do as follows: prolong exactly at the moment when the promises given to us are fulfilled," Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on Thursday.
Responding to a follow-up question as to how long Russia is ready to wait, bearing in mind that the grain deal expires on July 17, Putin said: "As long as is necessary to fulfil the obligations given to us, the promises given to us."
Regarding the connection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, Putin said "it is one of the conditions, there is also freight, there is logistics, calls by vessels to foreign ports."
Putin said he has not seen Guterres' new letter stating proposals on the Black Sea Grain Initiative that was sent to the Russian president.
"But we are in contact with the UN employees. I repeat, they sincerely want the Western countries to fulfil their obligations, but it's currently not working out," the president said.
Guterres earlier said he hoped the proposals on the Black Sea Grain Initiative sent to Putin would help solve the issue with is prolongation.
We are committed to make sure that we have both the efforts to have the Black Sea Initiative extended and the efforts to guarantee the exports of Russian food and fertilizers being successful. It is in this context that I've sent a letter to President Putin with some concrete proposals that I hope can allow us to find a positive way forward," Guterres said at a joint briefing with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels.
UN secretary-general spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had sent a letter to the Russian president outlining a proposal to keep the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
"The secretary-general yesterday sent a letter to the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposal aiming to harmonize the vital further implementation of the memorandum of understanding and with the vital need to keep the Black Sea Initiative operational," Dujarric said a at briefing.
The Black Sea Grain Intuitive, or the grain deal, was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. It expires on July 17.
The grain deal was extended in November 2022 for 120 days, then on March 18 for 60 days until May 18.
On May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Black Sea Grain Initiative would need alternatives if the Russian Agricultural Bank was not connected to SWIFT and if there was no progress in solving other 'systemic' problems blocking Russian agricultural export.