Russia threatens not to extend the grain deal if the UN sends experts to investigate use of Iranian drones in Ukraine
Russia has threatened to reconsider cooperation with the UN, in particular, a grain deal, if it sends to Ukraine experts to inspect Iranian drones shot down by Ukrainian military, said the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky.
Earlier, Ukraine invited UN experts to check the origin of drones, which Russia uses to strike civilian targets in Ukraine. There drones are believed to be supplied to Russia by Iran.
According to Polyansky, these are Russian-made drones: "We have our own drone industry, which creates products for this operation, so all the accusations remain on the conscience of our Western colleagues."
He added that the drones even have inscriptions in Russian language. "I don't think Russian is so widely used in Iran," Polyansky said.
Earlier, Ukraine said that Russia is repainting Iranian Shahed-136 drones and putting the inscription "Geranium-2" on them.
Polyansky said that Russia may not extend the grain deal. The agreement on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports was signed by Moscow and Kyiv on July 22 in Istanbul with the participation of the UN. It expires on November 19.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier promised to send a group of specialists to Ukraine to study the wreckage of the downed drones.
Meanwhile, the European Union agreed on sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to Russia, which will affect 8 individuals and legal entities. Iran denies shipments of these drones to Russia.