Grain deal extended for two additional months: Erdogan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 May 2023 18:57

The grain export deal has helped ease the global food crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Russia.

Workers load grain at a grain port in Izmail, Ukraine, on April 26, 2023 (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko)

After several worrisome weeks during which talks on the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative were thought to have come to a stalemate, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that the deal has been extended for an additional two months.

"With the efforts of our country, the support of our Russian friends, the contribution of our Ukrainian friends, it was decided to prolong the Black Sea grain deal for two more months," Erdogan announced one day before the deal was due to expire.

According to Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Russia agreed to prolong the Black Sea grain agreement in the hopes that all implementation-related concerns would be resolved.

"Because we still do not lose hope that the problems that we are raising will be sorted out. The sooner the better," Nebenzia told reporters.

Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered agreement on July 22 to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships transporting food and fertilizers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

The deal was extended on March 18 for a period of 60 days instead of the 120-day period originally specified in the agreement.

The grain export deal has helped ease the global food crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Russia.

According to the United Nations, more than 24.1 million tonnes of grain have been exported under the agreement until March. But the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed in October 2022 that only a quarter of the grain exported under the BSGI is going to low-income countries.

Agriculture ministers of the G7 member states considered on April 23 that the deal is vital to the "EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes" and announced their support for extending and expanding the deal.