During a press session at a United Nations Security Council gathering, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov faced questions about the status of the grain agreement. Reporters pressed him for a clear answer on whether the deal was dead, but Lavrov offered no definitive statement. The report from DEA News noted the moment as part of the ongoing exchanges surrounding Russia’s participation in the arrangement, which was brokered to facilitate grain shipments from Ukrainian ports amid the war surrounding Ukraine.
Following the first portion of the council meeting, Lavrov proceeded to a brief encounter with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres. The exchange appeared to center on the current state of the grain deal and the Western posture toward Russia’s participation. Observers described the brief interaction as a routine contact in a setting where high-stakes diplomacy intersects with urgent humanitarian concerns.
It was reported by Reuters that a journalist asked Lavrov about whether the grain agreement had effectively ended. Lavrov chose to divert the moment, focusing instead on a passerby and remarking on her dress. The exchange did not yield a substantive update on the agreement itself, leaving room for continued speculation about the pact’s future and the mechanisms needed to maintain grain exports from the region.
Another question directed at Lavrov touched on the case of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on charges the authorities describe as espionage. Lavrov did not respond to that inquiry either, maintaining a careful public posture amid the broader diplomatic dialogue occurring within the Security Council environment.
Earlier reports indicated that Lavrov had met with Guterres to address developments in the Western approach to the grain agreement, including what Moscow views as a lack of tangible progress on its Russian component. The Russian side has argued that Western states have not demonstrated genuine willingness to fulfill commitments tied to the deal, a position reiterated by Russian officials in the lead-up to and during the council discussions.
The day before, Lavrov commented on a letter delivered by the UN Secretary-General that outlined ideas for the grain framework. Moscow, he suggested, did not see the West showing the necessary intent to follow through on the proposed terms. This stance reflects a broader pattern of signaling in which Moscow frames Western actions as insufficiently concrete while asserting that its own requirements for compliance have not been acknowledged in full.
Meanwhile, reports from the Federal Security Service of Russia provided a formal account of Gershkovich’s detention. The FSB asserted that, acting under instructions from American counterparts, an investigation had been conducted into the activities of a Russian enterprise involved in the defense industry and that Gershkovich faced espionage accusations tied to those activities. The case has amplified tensions between Moscow and Western capitals and has been cited in media coverage as part of the wider geopolitical frictions accompanying the grain talks and related security concerns. The situation continues to evolve as official statements from both sides appear to reflect divergent interpretations of legal norms and humanitarian obligations in the context of a tense international framework. (Reuters; WSJ; FSB statements)”