Russia extended the grain deal not for 120, but only for 60 days, until May 18, 2023, reported in the Telegram channel, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova. “The Ukrainian side, through the Belarusian colleagues, was notified of 60 days, as was the Turkish side, as well as the UN Secretary General [Антониу Гутерриш]’ she wrote.
Zakharova accompanied the publication with a link to post in the Diplomatic Source Telegram channel, to which is attached a photograph of a letter from the Russian embassy in Belarus addressed to the Ukrainian embassy in this country. The letter states that the Russian side is not against extending the grain deal for 60 days. The document is dated March 13, 2023.
The permanent representative of Russia to the UN Vasily Nebenzya also announced the extension of the agreement for 60 days. His letter published Zakharov with reference to the same Diplomatic source.
The extension of the grain deal was confirmed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “As a result of our negotiations with both sides [Россией и Украиной] we have extended the term of the agreement,” he said (quote according to Anadolu), without specifying a specific renewal period. In turn, the Turkish official anonymously declared Bloomberg that the agreement has only been extended for 60 days.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov said on March 18 that the grain deal had been extended for 120 days. “Grateful to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as all partner countries, for their joint efforts to extend the document for another four months,” he wrote on Facebook (owned by Meta, which is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia and banned ).
Turkish TV channel Haberturk, citing the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal, too informed to extend the agreement for 120 days. “We insist that the grain agreement be concluded for an indefinite period and automatically extended for 120 days,” Haberturk quotes Shmygal.
The agreement, which approved the mechanism for the export of grain from Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea ports, was concluded in Istanbul in June 2022. In November 2022 grain deal was extended for 120 days, her term expired on March 18. 14 March Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko declaredthat the grain deal has been extended for 60 days. In Kyiv, in turn rejected idea to extend the grain deal for 60 days, stating that this is contrary to the agreement signed with Turkey and the UN. Kubrakov stressed that the agreement provides for the extension of the transaction for at least 120 days.
