UNITED NATIONS, May 15. /TASS/. New consultations on the extension of the grain deal will continue until May 18, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a briefing on Monday.

"We expect discussions to continue before May 18," he said.

When asked if a new high-level meeting, similar to the one held in Istanbul on May 12, is expected, Dujarric said: "I expect more formal discussions at the technical level to take place with the next few days in Istanbul."

"The discussions are going on involving all the all of the parties. We can't stress enough how important the Black Sea initiative is, along with the efforts of parallel efforts to increase the flow of Russian food and fertilizer to market," the UN official noted.

When asked about the prospects for expanding the deal by restarting the ammonia pipeline, Dujarric said that the position of the UN is to continue and fully implement the Memorandum of Understanding between Russia and the UN, which affects the export of grain and fertilizers.