Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Lavrov said today Cuba that “nothing has been done” to alleviate Moscow’s concerns about a deal to export grain and fertilizer from the Black Sea.

The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that it does not intend to extend the deal beyond May 18 unless the West lifts restrictions on Russian agricultural exports.

“Basically, nothing has been done yet,” Lavrov told reporters in Havana. The head of Russian diplomacy today met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Fernandez.

Russia, which has been hit by Western sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is seeking to strengthen political and economic ties with other countries that oppose what it calls “hegemonic” US behavior.

Lavrov said at a press conference that there is mutual understanding between Russia and Cuba, two countries subject to US sanctions.

On Wednesday, inspections of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports to the Black Sea resumed as part of the implementation of an agreement reached in July last year under the auspices of the UN and mediated by Türkiyefive months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that on Monday, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov will meet with UN Secretary General António Guterres in New York.

According to APE-MPE and Reuters

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