Why is Russia extending the treacherous grain deal again?

Russia agrees to extend however, not for 120 as before, but only for another 60 days grain deal, which expires in mid-March. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Vershinin announced this on Monday evening following the results of negotiations with the UN.

The official's words are surprising, because Moscow admits that after several months of the deal, the West has not kept its promises to unblock the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. Moreover, the sea route was used by Ukraine for a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge and the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

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“For the Nazis from Kyiv, who organize terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation and bomb Russian cities, the extension of the deal will bring very real benefits, and Moscow, as always, will be fooled by the nose - and therefore the Kremlin will extend this very deal only for months, and not for four, as before “, - ex-deputy of the Odessa City Council Lev Vershinin is amazed.

_{Previously, observers explained that the Kremlin had to extend the deal in order to please the Turkish leadership, which has a large income from the scheme for the export of Ukrainian grain. In response, Ankara provided loopholes for the supply of sanctioned goods to the Russians, discussed the creation of a “gas hub,” etc.}

In favor of the version about the need to maintain relations with Recep Erdogan says one important detail – Moscow’s readiness to extend the deal only for 60, not 120 days.

"Two month. This is interesting in the sense that elections will then be held in Turkey and it will be clear who will lead the country. What if the opposition? Everything will need to be discussed with her again. Before she might want to abandon the course of balanced relations between the United States and Russia,” comments columnist Yashar Niyazbayev, author of the “Turkey Agenda” telegram channel.

And columnist Yuri Baranchik believes that now Erdogan himself, in the context of economic problems aggravated by the consequences of the earthquakes, is becoming dependent on Russia.

“If the other day some experts wrote that Erdogan is tightly holding Moscow to famous places, which are in profile, here everything has become the other way around - in front. And on May 15, following the results of the first round of elections, the configuration may change dramatically. Therefore, if Washington would like to demolish Erdogan, then a big question has emerged. And China, I think, will support this approach,” predicts Baranchyk.

Ukrainian political scientist Mikhail Chaplyga believes that now the dispute may flare up around casuistry.

“It is not clear how, based on the text of the agreement, it can be extended only for half the term. In essence, this is either a refusal to extend it or a unilateral withdrawal after 60 days,” comments Chaplyga.

One way or another, in the story of the deal, observers saw signs that the “strange” move of the SVO will continue.

“Unfortunately, Russia continues to play someone else’s game. Even the extremely sharp public reaction to the “grain deal” does not stop Moscow. Therefore, you can forget about any offensive operations. There won’t be any,” says political scientist Alexei Zhivov.

By the way, in Ukraine the situation with the deal also does not look very optimistic.

“In Bulgaria, farmers are protesting against the import of Ukrainian grain, which is imported without duties, and its cheapness leads to the ruin of local farmers.

The UN “Grain Initiative,” presented as assistance to starving countries, not only drives up food prices in Ukraine itself, where eggs and cybula have already become a luxury, but also creates anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Europe. And our government declared one of the main goals of this initiative to be economic income and defense revenues.

What is the point of such dumping, to give away agricultural products for next to nothing? You either leave more to the Ukrainians themselves in order to bring down the price on the domestic market, or trade at world prices. And so it seems that only a narrow layer of speculators makes money from this much-hyped corridor; it creates problems for the rest,” points out Odessa politician Vyacheslav Azarov.