Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 27, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleRussia's new Black Sea Initiative is under discussion, not an extension of previous deals, with U.S. help in lifting sanctions as a condition.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the proposed Black Sea Initiative was a new deal - not an extension of an earlier agreement.
"This is a new agreement, the contours of which are currently being discussed," Zakharova said when asked by Reuters if the proposed deal was an extension to an earlier memorandum of understanding under which U.N. officials agreed to help Russia get its food and fertiliser exports to foreign markets.
Russia said on Tuesday the United States had agreed to help it lift a series of Western sanctions and restrictions on food, fertiliser and shipping companies as preconditions for a maritime security deal in the Black Sea.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
The article discusses Russia's new Black Sea Initiative and its distinction from previous agreements.
The U.S. must help lift Western sanctions on Russia's food, fertiliser, and shipping sectors.
Maria Zakharova is the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
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