NAIROBI, KENYA — A high-ranking Russian official warned on May 29 that the recently extended Black Sea grain deal would cease to exist unless Western economic sanctions hurting Russia’s ability to export grain and fertilizer are lifted, Reuters reported.

“If everything remains as it is, and apparently it will, then it will be necessary to proceed from the fact that it “(the deal) is no longer functioning,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a visit to Nairobi when asked if the Black Sea deal should be extended again, according to Reuters. 

Russia on May 17 agreed to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative for two months, just hours before it was due to expire.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea deal for an initial 120 days in July 2022 to help tackle a global food crisis that has been aggravated by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s leading grain exporters, in February 2022. The Russian military had blockaded Ukrainian ports during the first five months of the war, preventing exports, which caused grain prices to soar on the world market.

Lavrov, whose visit to Kenya is the first step of a tour of Africa, said the United Nations-Russia memorandum had not been fulfilled “at all.” The UN-Russia agreement was reached at the same time as the Black Sea deal.

Although Russian grain and fertilizer exports are not directly subject to Western sanctions, Russia said the shipments are negatively impacted by restrictions on payments, insurance costs and logistics.

More than 30 million tonnes of grain have been shipped from Ukraine since the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed last July, according to the United Nations. That is still well below the totals during the same period in recent years.