Russia's proposal on free grain exports heard at UN

Moscow's proposal on free exports of 500,000 tonnes of grain has been heard, including at the United Nations, Oleg Kobyakov, director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office in Russia, said in an interview with Sputnik.

“I assure you that the proposal of the Russian authorities has been heard, including by the UN, and these issues are now being worked out comprehensively through the UN, because UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and UN Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan are personally responsible for both the grain deal and the implementation of the memorandum that Russia signed with the UN," Kobyakov said.

The agreement is part of a larger package deal that also envisions unblocking Russian grain and fertilizer exports. At the same time, the Russian authorities announced that they were ready to supply up to 500,000 tonnes of grain to the poorest countries free of charge in the next 4 months. The Russian part of the Istanbul agreements, Moscow says, is still not being properly implemented.