"Negotiations with a number of Western countries are ongoing. [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] in his recent statement also pointed out the importance of constructive steps from the West for the resumption of the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. In negotiations with us, we receive verbal guarantees from our partners, but practice shows that this is not enough. Especially when it comes to first resuming the operation of the mechanism, and then making the process stable," the source said.
On July 18, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which provided a humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year, expired, as Russia did not extend its participation.
Moscow said that the deal's component on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled and that the largest share of Ukrainian grain exports had ended up in the European Union and not in poor African countries.