There are no hurdles to prolonging the deal on the export of grain via the Black Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey told Turkish reporters aboard a plane returning from Azerbaijan, where he attended an airport opening ceremony.
"There are no hurdles for extending the agreement. I realized it again during the meeting with [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky yesterday evening and during the meeting with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. But in the event of any constriction at the time there are no hurdles to coping with it," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Sabah newspaper.
According to Erdogan, as of Thursday, over 8 mln metric tons of Ukrainian grain had been delivered to global markets within the framework of the grain deal, as the Anadolu agency reported. Europe accounted for 62% of supplies, another 19.5% of grain were supplied to Asia, 13% went to Africa, and 5.3% to Middle Eastern states.
A package of documents aimed at resolving the food and fertilizer supply crisis to global markets was signed in Istanbul on July 22. A memorandum between Russia and the UN stipulates that the global body joins the organization of efforts to lift anti-Russian restrictions hindering exports of agriculture products and fertilizers. Another document spells out the mechanism of transporting grain from Black Sea ports controlled by Kiev. A four-party coordination center, which includes Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, ensures the inspection of grain ships in order to prevent arms smuggling and false flag operations. The deal expires in November.
