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Source says no preparations for completion of ship vetting within grain deal underway

"Contacts on extension of the grain deal continue," the source said

ANKARA, May 17. /TASS/. No preparations for completion of inspection of vessels in the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center (JCC) are underway now, a source in Istanbul told TASS on Wednesday.

"No, no such preparations are underway, no new actions have been taken. Contacts on extension of the grain deal continue," the source said.

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.

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