Russia agrees to extend grain deal with Ukraine by 2 months, says Turkey's Erdogan
Russia has extended a grain deal with Ukraine for another two months in a bid to boost global food security, says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Back on July 22, Moscow and Kiev reached an agreement in Istanbul, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, to resume grain exports from three of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, aiming to put an end to a standoff that had exposed millions to the risk of starvation.
The deal, due to expire on Thursday, allowed Ukraine to resume grain shipments, which had stopped after Russia imposed a blockade on Ukraine's southern ports following the invasion of the country on February 24.
"I want to give a good news. With the efforts of our country, the support of our Russian friends and the contribution of our Ukrainian friends, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has been extended by another two months," said Erdogan on Wednesday.
"We will continue our efforts to ensure that all the conditions of the agreement are fulfilled so that it continues in the next period,” he added.
The extension of the deal is considered a win for countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that are dependent on Ukrainian wheat, barley, vegetable oil and other affordable food products, particularly as drought takes a toll.
Ukraine, which is a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil, used to export most of its crop yields through its main ports on the Black and Azov Seas, but since the start of the Russian offensive, it has been forced to export by train or via its small Danube River ports.
Moscow opposed the 120 days for extension outlined in the agreement and decided to renew the deal for just 60 days.
The grain deal came with a separate agreement to facilitate shipments of Russian food and fertilizer that Moscow insists has not yet been applied. The Kremlin had initially threatened to abandon the deal if its concerns were not addressed by Thursday.
Separately on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed the extension, stressing that problems would need to be resolved "at the technical level."
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said last week that the grain deal “should be extended for a longer period of time and expanded” to “give predictability and confidence” to markets.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed over 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain to be shipped out, with over half that going to the developing nations.
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