A meeting at the level of technical delegations to discuss the grain deal will be held in Istanbul on Friday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
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Earlier, Akar spoke about a meeting of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the level of deputy defense ministers planned for May 5 in Istanbul to discuss the extension of the grain deal. The deal expires on May 18th.
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“Instead of a meeting of deputy defense ministers, tomorrow there will be a meeting at a technical level. It turned out that it is necessary to hold a meeting of technical personnel of the UN, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine before the meeting of deputy defense ministers. This meeting will take place tomorrow,” Akar said.
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“After this meeting, next week we can talk about a meeting at the level of deputy ministers,” Akar added.
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He specified that both meetings will be held in Istanbul.
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The grain deal, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, involves the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizer across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa.
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A joint coordinating center in Istanbul is responsible for coordinating the movement of ships. The deal is part of a package agreement that, among other things, provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, Moscow noted that this was precisely what was not implemented. At the same time, there were assurances from the UN that the restrictions would be lifted. From March 18, 2023, Russia extended the deal for 60 days – until May 18, Ukraine insists that the deal has been extended for 120 days.
