Erdogan confirms extension of grain deal

The grain deal has been extended, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. About it informs TASS with reference to the broadcast of Erdogan’s speech in the city of Canakkale, which was broadcast by TRT.

“The term of the grain deal, which expires on March 19, has been extended. We ensured the extension for a new term of the agreement thanks to the negotiations that we held with the two sides,” Erdogan said.

The Ukrainian authorities today also announced the extension of the grain deal for 120 days. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov announced this on Twitter. Earlier, the Russian side noted that the agreement would only be extended for 60 days.

“The #BlackSeaGrainInitiative agreement has been extended for 120 days,” Kubrakov wrote.

The Deputy Prime Minister thanked the UN, Secretary General of the organization António Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and “all partners for complying with the agreements.” Kubrakov added that thanks to joint efforts, 25 million tons of grain were supplied to world markets.

On March 14, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko announced the extension of the grain deal for 60 days and the confirmation of its package nature. He clarified that negotiations are ongoing, Russia will persistently strive to ensure that all obligations are fulfilled. In particular, we are talking about the lifting of all sanctions for the supply of Russian agricultural products to international global markets.

“We are talking not only about the very possibility of transportation, access of our ships to foreign ports, [но и] about insurance, as well as the need to resolve issues directly related to the production and cultivation of grain in our country. This is the supply of relevant technologies, spare parts, various agricultural equipment, and so on,” Grushko said.

After that, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov explained extension of the grain deal for 60 days as a “goodwill gesture” in the hope that the terms of the second part of the deal, related to the export of Russian fertilizers, will be fulfilled.

The extension of the grain deal for 60 days instead of 120 is contrary to the agreement, Kyiv expects the position of the UN and Turkey, Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said earlier.

The grain deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN, on the one hand, and representatives of Russia and Ukraine, on the other. Separate agreements were concluded with Moscow and Kiev: the first was for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, and the second was for assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. Moscow has repeatedly noted that the second part of the deal is not being fulfilled, including in terms of the free delivery of Russian fertilizers arrested in EU ports to African countries. Initially, the deal was calculated until November 18, later it was extended for 120 days.