U.S. Indicates Possibility of Russia's Return to Grain Agreement

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced on Tuesday that the United States has learned that Russia is prepared to return to discussions regarding an agreement that allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, but “we have not seen any evidence of that so far.” She stated, “We have noticed indicators that Russia may be interested in returning to discussions. So we will wait to see how likely this actually is.” Thomas-Greenfield pointed out that if Russia wants to transport fertilizers to global markets and facilitate agricultural transactions, “it will have to return to this agreement.” The U.S. ambassador noted that "UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continues his efforts to find a way forward and bring the Russians back to the agreement," emphasizing that part of this was to provide some support for Russian fertilizers to reach the market. She added, "If they do not return to the agreement, this part of it will stop." Russia withdrew from the agreement on July 17.