ISTANBUL, May 10. /TASS/. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed hope for the extension of the grain deal, which expires on May 18, for at least two months. He told this to reporters on Wednesday upon his return from Moscow, where four-party talks on Syria were held.
"I hope that a positive result will be achieved at the meeting in Istanbul. We think that our president [Tayyip Erdogan] will put the last stop on this issue in a conversation with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the deal will be extended for at least two months," he said.
According to him, at the negotiations, Russia and Turkey are represented by deputy ministers of defense and foreign affairs, while Ukraine is represented by the deputy minister of infrastructure.
Cavusoglu also said that he had discussed the implementation of the grain deal in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
On July 22, 2022, a package of documents on the supply of food and fertilizers to the international market was signed in Istanbul. Initially, the agreements were concluded for 120 days. On March 18, 2023, Russia announced the extension of the initiative for 60 days. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that a further extension of the deal would depend on the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system and the lifting of a number of restrictions on supplies, insurance and access to ports. The Turkish side earlier said that Turkey’s state-owned Ziraat Bank may be ready to execute payment transactions for sales of Russian grain and fertilizers.