Russia and Ukraine progressing on grain deal extension, Turkey says
Mike Brest
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Russia and Ukraine are coming closer to reaching an agreement to extend the deal that allows Ukrainian grain exports to leave amid a growing food crisis.
The United Nations and Turkey first brokered the Black Sea agreement last July to help mitigate a growing global food shortage that had been exacerbated by Russia’s refusal to let Ukrainian exports leave for months, though Moscow has threatened to pull out of the deal next week due to Russia’s demands concerning its exports and the disconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank from the Swift payment system.
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“(The parties) are approaching an agreement on an extension of the grain agreement period,” Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar said in a Friday statement.
All four parties met in Istanbul for two days this week.
Part of their agreement also included the safe return of six Turkish ships that had been in Ukrainian ports.
“The parties expressed their positive approach regarding the coordination of the return of our merchant ships and their crews, which were stranded in Ukrainian ports due to the conflict conditions, to the planning and execution of the evacuation activity,” the Turkish defense ministry said in a statement. “Since the day it was signed, positive and constructive progress has been made on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has made a significant contribution to the stability of food prices worldwide and is of vital importance in terms of world food supply and security.”
The initial agreement lasted for 120 days, which they then extended for the same time period. It was then extended for another 60 days on March 18.
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Ambassador Jim O’Brien, the head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. Department of State, said on Thursday that Ukraine’s exports “dropped to effectively zero from almost 6 million tons a month” when Russia invaded. “That’s food for millions of people.”
But over the last year or so, Ukraine exported nearly 56 million tons of grain. About 29 million tons came through the Black Sea Grain Initiative, while the remainder came through direct exports through the European Union solidarity lanes, he added.