Erdoğan: Work is underway to extend the grain deal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hopes that the grain corridor will continue its operation, and the Black Sea initiative will be extended.

"We used the favorable atmosphere that was created in relations with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, both in the exchange of prisoners and in the organization of the grain corridor. We keep working in this direction, we expect the deal to be extended",

he said, speaking on the TRT Turk TV channel.

The grocery deal is scheduled to end to end on May 18, and its extension was discussed by Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin in the last days of April. In the near future, negotiations will continue with the participation of the Ukrainian side - a meeting of the deputy ministers of the three states will be held in Türkiye.

Let us note that the Russian side is skeptical about the next extension of the initiative. Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that the Istanbul agreements are still not implemented in terms of the conditions relating to the Russian Federation.