Sabah: Erdogan in conversation with Putin says grain deal needs to be extended
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during telephone talks on Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the “grain deal” should be extended, the Sabah newspaper quoted sources as saying.
Earlier, the Turkish leader’s office reported that during the talks, the leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine. Erdogan said new initiatives could be developed by working groups. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the “grain deal” includes a detailed set of arguments on the efforts being made, but it is still there, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier.
“During the talks, President Erdogan stated the need to extend the ‘grain corridor’ and Putin responded by saying that ‘we attach importance to Turkey’s proposal,'” the newspaper wrote.
The grain deal, which was signed by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN on 22 July 2022, envisages the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizers via the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The package deal also envisages unblocking Russian exports of food and fertilizers, which Moscow noted has not been implemented, while there have been assurances from the UN that these restrictions will be lifted. Earlier, Russia extended the Black Sea grain initiative by 60 days, until 18 May.
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