Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed bilateral relations and the implementation of the grain deal with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov over the phone on Wednesday, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Today, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The parties discussed the implementation of the grain deal and bilateral relations," the statement reads.
Agreements on food exports from Ukraine were concluded on July 22 last year in Istanbul for 120 days and were extended in November for the same period. One of the agreements regulates the order of grain export from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. In addition, a memorandum was signed between the Russian Federation and the United Nations, which envisages obligations of the world organization to remove restrictions on the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products to world markets. The Russian side points out that the second part of the agreement is not being implemented.
The United Nations, represented by Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan, Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, and a Russian delegation, headed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, held consultations in Geneva last Monday. Following the meeting, the Russian deputy foreign minister told reporters that Moscow was not against extending the deal after March 18, but only for 60 days, not 120 days as in November 2022. According to him, this term is enough for an objective assessment of the implementation of UN assurances to unblock the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the world market.
On March 15, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that he was negotiating with the Russian and Ukrainian sides to extend the grain deal by 120 days.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS