Russia decided to agree to extend the grain agreement for another 2 months. At the same time, the Kremlin called this decision as a “gesture of good will.”

In a Channel 24 stream, international journalist Alexei Burlakov said that he had two versions of why Russia agreed.

According to him, the first version is that they do not want to be guilty of the food crisis in the world. Lavrov even said himself that the West invented the trouble with food and now blames Russia. That is why they do not want to expose themselves like that again.

Second version

Alexei Burlakov noted that there is another version, which is quite plausible. A few days ago, a ship with collected Russian weapons passed through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – straits through which warships should not pass. This is spelled out in the statute of the Montreux Convention, which Turkey signed. They just close the passage for warships.

According to the Montreux Convention of 1936, Turkey controls the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, which connect the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and can restrict the passage of warships in wartime or in case of a threat.

The journalist added that later Turkey explained that the ship allegedly looked like a civilian, so it was let through. Burlakov suggested that maybe it was some kind of exchange: “you are not blocking anything further, and we will let you through one ship.”

Then this is a “goodwill gesture” – they really needed some kind of weapon and they even agreed to this, – said Alexei Burlakov.

“On the other hand, it is unlikely that the Russians have much control over anything. How could they fire at ships with grain, but it would be visible,” the journalist added.

In addition, he recalled that a few days ago, the Russians had a conversation with the Americans on fertilizers in Syria. The first grain agreement was precisely on such an exchange: “we will supply fertilizer and we will not interfere with the grain.”

Latest news about the grain agreement

• The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the grain agreement was extended on the same terms. Most likely, consultations are still ongoing. So far, the Ukrainian side has not commented whether the “grain agreement” has really been extended.
• On March 13, negotiations between Russia and the UN were held in Geneva to extend the grain agreement.
• Later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said that his country was ready to extend the grain agreement, but only for 60 days.