West Begins to Realize Refusal of Russian Fertilizers Bad Choice: Senior Russian Official

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Unfriendly countries started to realize that abandoning Russian mineral fertilizers would not end well and the West is already easing up on its rhetoric to resume trade, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko told Sputnik on Saturday.

"As for mineral fertilizers, my observations over the last year showed that unfriendly states have begun to realize that it is impossible to refuse mineral fertilizers, including Russian, as it will end badly. There are already some changes in the official position of unfriendly countries in order to resume such trade and the rhetoric is softening," Abramchenko said.

On July 22, 2022, the deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations was signed by Ukraine and Russia to unblock shipments of grain, food and fertilizer in the Black Sea despite hostilities. The agreement was initially set to expire on November 19, with a possibility of extension if signatories consent. It was extended for 120 days on November 17.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that most vessels carrying Ukrainian grain do not reach the world's poorest countries and have ended up in Europe. Putin has also voiced concerns that Russian grain and fertilizer products are not entering the global markets as stipulated by the agreement. According to Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov, Latvia, Estonia and Belgium continue to keep Russian agricultural products in ports, while the resumption of ammonia supplies is blocked by Kiev.