Black Sea grain export deal extended for 120 days, says Ukrainian minister

The Ukrainian grain deal allowing the safe passageof ships through the Black Sea, which was set to expire on Saturday, has been extended for another 120 days, Ukraine's infrastructure minister said on Thursday."#BlackSeaGrainInitiative will be prolonged for 120 days," Oleksandr Kubrakov tweeted on Thursday.

The minister further said that discussions are on with the Turkey and UN to extend the initiative for one more year and also include the Mykolaiv port in it.

“It is also important to ensure the effective operation of the JCC. We submit our proposals for solving existing problems,” he tweeted.

#BlackSeaGrainInitiative will be prolonged for 120 days. 🇺🇦 @ZelenskyyUa together w/ @antonioguterres 🇺🇳@UN, 🇹🇷 @RTErdogan & Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar @tcsavunma made another important step in the global fight against the food crisis. — Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) November 17, 2022

A Turkish official confirmed to AFP that the deal had been extended "under current terms".

It is understood that the extension of the deal was discussed at the behest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The deal initially came into effect in July following long parleys led activelyby the UNand Turkey, as global food prices soared after the export was halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the extension of the grain deal for a protected sea transit corridor to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds.

"I welcome the agreement by all parties to continue the Black Sea grain initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilisers from Ukraine," Guterres said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the UN was also "fully committed to removing the remaining obstacles to exporting food and fertilisers from the Russian Federation".

Turkey President Erdogan hopeful to extend grain deal which is set to expire on November 19

Under the deal, a certain number of Black Sea ports have been kept open for the safe passage of Ukrainian grains.So far, millions of tonnes of grain have been exported under the agreement.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin said that Russia had seen "certain progress" towards addressing its concerns over the Black Sea grain deal.

Russia had initially suspended the deal complaining that the Ukrainian grain was given unfair advantage while its own grain and fertiliser exports were not given similar free access to world markets because of sanctions.

Earlier in Bali during the G20 meet, the Turkish president indicated that the grain deal would continue, bringing relief to some of the poorest countries in the world.

“I am of the opinion that it will continue. There’s no problem there,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a press conference at theG20.

(With inputs from agencies)

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