Turkish Defense Ministry announces meeting of delegations on grain deal

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that a meeting of delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine is planned in Istanbul to discuss a grain deal on Friday, May 5. About it informed CNN Turk.

“A meeting of the Deputy Ministers of Defense of Turkey, Ukraine and Russia is planned in Istanbul. <...> During the meeting, some issues will be discussed, in particular, the grain initiative,” Akar said.

He added that the “grain deal” is important for peace and stability in the region, as well as for countries in need.

“In this context, we can say that the parties are ready to extend the deadline. We want this initiative to continue without problems,” the minister concluded.

Earlier, Reuters wrote that a new round of negotiations to extend the deal will be held on May 3. The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, answering a question from Vedomosti on May 2, told reporters that in the field of extending the deal, “the dialogue will continue,” although he did not confirm the negotiations on May 3.

They also did not confirm the meeting on May 3 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The department told RIA Novosti that there was no information about any meeting on the grain deal with the Russian side.

The grain deal was extended in mid-March until May 18. On April 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the situation around the agreement had reached a dead end. The minister pointed to the unwillingness to remove obstacles to the export of Russian fertilizers, despite their shortage, and also to connect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. The Kremlin also called the prospects for extending the agreement “not very good.”

The agreement on the export of grain 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 signed with Moscow and Kiev: the first was for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, 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 implemented.