Russia has little to gain from agreeing to a U.N. proposal that it unblock Ukraine's grain exports via the Black Sea in exchange for the freeing of Russian and Belarusian fertilizer exports from Western sanctions, industry experts in Russia say.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week he was in "intense contact" with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union, urging "goodwill on all sides" to restore Ukrainian grain exports as a global food crisis worsens.
But goodwill is lacking in Moscow, which has squarely blamed the Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine for the food crisis.