Turkish foreign minister, UN chief discuss Black Sea grain deal

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday discussed extending of grain deal.

According to diplomatic sources, Cavusoglu and Guterres discussed the Black Sea grain initiative, as well as the latest developments in Ukraine.

Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

The deal, extended for 120 days in November 2022, will expire on Saturday.

As part of the deal, 24 million metric tons of grains have been exported and over 1,600 secure vessel voyages passed through the Black Sea with 55% of food exports going to developing countries, the UN said Monday in a statement.