Foreign Ministry Spox Zakharova Clarifies Russia's Position On Black Sea Deal

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, on March 27, 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 fertilizer exports to foreign markets. Russia said, on March 25, that the United States had agreed to help it lift a series of Western sanctions and restrictions on food, fertilizer and shipping companies as preconditions for a maritime security deal in the Black Sea.