Türkiye, Ukraine discuss extension of grain deal

Senior officials from Türkiye and Ukraine have discussed the continuation of the grain deal that will allow the export of the latter's wheat and other products to the world market for another four months.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Olexander Kubrakov met in Istanbul late on Oct. 16 and paid a visit to the Joint Coordination Center that controls the implementation of the grain deal through the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits.

"Some 345 ships have carried 7.7 million tons of wheat from the Ukrainian ports in the past three months. This is a very satisfactory result," Akar told reports following the visit. Türkiye and the U.N. initiated separate agreements with Russia and Ukraine on July 22 for the resumption of grain export from the two warring sides to avoid a major global food crisis. The agreement will expire on Nov. 22 but can be extended if the two sides do not reject it.

The Ukrainian minister thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Akar for their role in making this agreement possible, saying, "The total amount of grain export is almost 8 million tons. We believe that this initiative should continue. We also see the link between the grain prices and this initiative."

The deal does also stipulate the resumption of exports from Russia, but due to technical reasons, no shipment from the Russian ports could be possible. Ankara and Moscow are seeking ways to let it start as Russian consent is needed for the extension of the deal.

Historic job: Akar

Akar, for his part, described the joint work by officials from Türkiye, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine in the coordination center as both historic and humanitarian. "We know that grain prices significantly decreased...