Earlier, the Kremlin announced the extension of the “grain agreement” for 60 days. However, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, as well as the UN, reported that the grain agreement had been extended for another 4 months.
The Grain Deal, which guarantees safe passage for ships carrying Ukraine’s vital export grain, has been extended. The UN emphasizes that we are talking about an extension for 120 days, and not for 60, as previously reported.
“The agreement is public, it is an open document. It provides for a postponement for a period of 120 days,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The Minister for the Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov also announced on his Facebook about the extension of the grain deal for 120 days.
“I am grateful to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as to all partner countries for their joint efforts to extend the document for another 4 months,” the minister wrote.
Kubrakov noted that Ukraine continues to export its agricultural products through three deep sea ports.
Message from the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov
The message that the grain deal is being extended was also confirmed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The term of the grain deal, which expires on March 19, has been extended. We ensured the extension of the agreement thanks to the negotiations that we held with the two parties (Russia and Ukraine),” Erdogan said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirms that the grain deal has been extended
The day before, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey would work to expand the “grain agreement”. CNN writes about it.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced its agreement to a 60-day extension of the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the move a “goodwill gesture.”
Statement by Kremlin Speaker Dmitry Peskov on the extension of the “grain deal”
Earlier, on March 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the position of Western countries regarding the grain deal “dishonest”. According to him, Russian ships with grain and fertilizer as cargo are prohibited from entering the ports of importing countries.
Focus also wrote that on January 17, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Serhiy Kislitsa, during a meeting of the Security Council, said that Ukraine proposes to expand the “grain deal” to the ports of the Nikolaev region and extend it for at least 120 days.
