Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday that they had extended the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea by two months.
Erdoğan stated that they decided to extend the grain agreement, which was reached in July 2022, for an additional two months.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin expressed the need to resolve “many unanswered questions” before extending the deal.
The UN, Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey signed the agreement in July last year, allowing the export of over 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain in the past ten months, which helped alleviate the global food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. The agreement was previously renewed for 60 days on March 19.
While the current renewal was intended for 120 days, Russian authorities agreed to only 60 days.
Moscow mentioned that while Ukrainian grain exports continue, Russian fertilizer and food exports face obstacles due to sanctions imposed by Western countries in response to Russia’s offensive against Ukraine.
Newly commissioned vessels are prohibited from exporting grain across the Black Sea
Negotiations among Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, and the United Nations (UN) on grain exports concluded without reaching an agreement.
According to UN spokesperson Farhan Haq, no new ships have been authorized to export grain across the Black Sea. Daily inspections of previously approved ships are ongoing.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that a technical meeting was held among the four parties in Istanbul to discuss the upcoming grain agreement negotiations.
Agreements for food exports from Ukraine were initially concluded on July 22 last year for 120 days, and they were extended for an additional 120 days in November.
In March of this year, Russian authorities announced a 60-day extension of the agreement, stating that it would provide sufficient time to assess the effectiveness of the memorandum Russia signed with the UN.
