Sputnik reported on Monday, citing a source close to the matter, that the upcoming talks on negotiating the extension of the UN-brokered grain deal may reach critical levels of intensity at the beginning of July, which is set to expire on the 18th of that month.

A week ago, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said that July 18 may potentially be the last day of the grain deal initiative.

"There is a high probability that negotiations will enter an active phase from the beginning of July," the source said, adding that "there is such a possibility" that they will be at the highest level.

Read more: Russia signs 750+ grain, oil deals in national currencies: Deputy PM

On June 22, Ambassador at Large with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Olga Trofimtseva, said that she is 99.9% certain that Russia will abandon the deal in July. 

Her forecast is based on the fact that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's mandate got renewed in May and that Russia has almost completed the construction of a new ammonia export terminal that will reduce the importance of the Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline whose fertilizer transits were covered in a UN memorandum under the grain deal. 

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

The initial 120-day agreement was extended once in November and was due to expire on March 18, but it was extended for two additional months and then another two on May 18, 2023.

On June 9, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin blamed Ukraine for a blast on a key ammonia pipeline and warned that it could affect the consultations to renew the grain export deal, as per RIA news agency.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said earlier this week that July 18 may potentially be the last day of the grain deal initiative.

Read more: Bombing of ammonia pipeline complicates grain deal extension: Peskov