Erdogan, Putin to hold phone talks on grain deal

Negotiations between the presidents of Türkiye and the Russian Federation Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin on extending the term of the grain deal are possible in the coming 24 hours, reported from Hürriyet newspaper.

"Critical 24 hours for the grain agreement... Tomorrow expires the agreement on the grain corridor, signed under the mediation of the UN and Türkiye. Although Moscow is not in favor of extending the agreement, Presidents Erdogan and Putin are expected to hold telephone conversations,” the paper wrote.

The newspaper noted that cargo ships made 1,085 trips through the Bosphorus and 30 million tons of grain, half of which was corn, were transported within the deal.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022, by representatives of Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine and the UN, envisages the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizer from three Ukrainian ports. The coordination of vessel traffic is handled by the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul. The deal expires on May 18, 2023.

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