UNITED NATIONS, April 24. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked on Monday whether the Black Sea grain deal was dead, but he decided not to answer the question.

Lavrov was heading from a UN Security Council meeting, which he chaired, to a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, when a Reuters reporter asked him the grain deal question. The minister stopped in front of the female reporter, but only to compliment the journalist on her choice of attire.

"Nice dress," he said.

Guterres and Lavrov are expected to discuss the possibility of extending the grain deal beyond May 18, according to the secretary general’s office.

As Lavrov made his way to the meeting, another reporter shouted out a question about Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage in Russia. Lavrov didn’t respond.