Türkiye and UN want to extend grain deal

The Turkish authorities, together with the UN, are working on the extension and smooth implementation of the grain deal.

The grain deal helped to lower world food prices, which is especially important for the least developed countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at the opening of the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Qatar.

He said that Türkiye and the UN were working hard to extend and smoothly implement this deal. Turkish Minister and UN Secretary General António Guterres discussed the extension of the Istanbul initiative the day before, on March 4.

Let us remind you that the Black Sea grain deal expires on March 18.

Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that the grain exported along the Black Sea corridor mostly ends up not in needy countries, but on the European market. Russia and Türkiye agreed to jointly and free of charge supply grain to African countries.

According to the Turkish MP, head of the Innovation Party Öztürk Yılmaz, Türkiye will seek to extend the deal for at least six months. Also, the parliamentarian said, the Turkish side was interested in the start of deliveries of Russian grain and fertilizers, TASS reports.

The Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) kicked off today in Doha. It will last until March 9.