Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and the implementation of the grain deal, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, TASS reports.
"Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has spoken by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today. The discussion was about the implementation of the grain deal and bilateral relations," the statement said.
Agreements to export food from Ukraine were signed on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul to last 120 days. One of the agreements sets forth a procedure for the export of grain from Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Russia, Turkey and the United Nations established a coordination center to inspect ships with grain to prevent weapons smuggling and provocations. Russia and the UN also concluded a memorandum for the UN to undertake to work toward lifting the restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. Russia has said the memorandum hasn’t been fulfilled.
The UN, represented by Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan and UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin held consultations in Geneva last Monday. The deputy minister told reporters afterward that Moscow wouldn’t object to extending the deal beyond March 18 for 60 days, down from the previous extension for 120 days, which occurred in November 2022. He said the time would be enough to assess how UN assurances are implemented with respect to unblocking the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on March 15 that he was engaged in talks with Russia and Ukraine about extending the grain deal for 120 days.
