ISTANBUL, May 13. /TASS/. Turkey undertakes necessary efforts for extension of the grain deal, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in an interview aired by the A-Haber television channel on Saturday.

"We are doing everything we can for the grain deal to be extended," he said.

Akar said earlier following the meeting in Istanbul on May 10-11 with the participation of representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN on extension of the deal that expires on May 18, that the sides were moving to its extension. A source familiar with the negotiations on the grain deal told TASS earlier that it would be extended for another 60 days.

Agreements on the export of food and fertilizers from Ukraine to the international market were concluded on July 22, 2022, for 120 days and extended in November for the same period. One of the agreements regulates the order of grain supplies from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Moreover, a memorandum was inked by Russia and the UN on lifting export restrictions for Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to global markets. Moscow notes that the second part of the agreement is not being implemented. On March 18, 2023, Russia announced that the deal was extended for 60 days, warning that this would be enough time to assess the efficacy of the memorandum signed with the UN. The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that the future decision on extension of the deal depends on implementation of the Russian part of the agreement, adding that the lack of progress on that issue threatens the future of the initiative.