On March 18, Ukrainian Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksandr Kubrakov said that the agreement on the “grain corridor” had been extended for another 120 days.
He expressed gratitude to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, as well as to all partner countries, for their joint efforts “to extend the document for another 4 months.”
This means that Ukraine continues to export its agricultural products through three deep-sea seaports. In particular, from August 1 to today, we sent 25 million tons for the needs of the world,” he said.
Kubrakov added that the main challenge is to speed up inspections in Turkey.
We also continue to work on joining the “grain corridor” of the ports of Mykolaiv region and expanding the range of cargoes. Ukraine has been and remains firmly embedded in the world economy and markets. The ability to export more will help relieve inflation risks, and as a result , social tensions in many countries of the world,” the minister summed up.
In turn, Russia in its statement insists that the period of prolongation of this document is half as long – 60 days. According to Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, “Russia has agreed to extend the Black Sea grain initiative for only 60 days.
We have repeatedly stated – both the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN – that the Russian side has notified all parties to the agreement that it extends the agreement for 60 days.
The UN press service confirmed the extension of the agreement but did not indicate the validity period.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, has been continued. The initiative makes it possible to facilitate safe navigation for the export of grain and related food and fertilizers, including ammonia, from certain Ukrainian seaports.
The UN emphasized that since the beginning of the grain corridor agreement, about 25 million tons of agricultural products have been delivered to 45 countries.
Note that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is one of the mediators in the agreement, announced the fact of its extension without specifying specific deadlines. Recently, he stressed that the agreement must be extended by 120 days.