Türkiye wants Ukraine grain deal to be extended, says official

By Muhammet Tarhan and Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye wants the Ukraine grain deal, which expires next month, to be extended, according to a top Turkish official.

“We discussed this issue with the Ukrainian side. They have a positive view about this idea. We are also discussing the issue with the Russians,” Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish presidential spokesperson, told American news channel CNN on Friday.

“They have some concerns about sending their own crops, ammonia and fertilizers. They had an agreement with the UN. So, they are trying to work out some details. These were some of the problems,” he explained.

The landmark deal was signed by Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye, and the UN in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports that were halted since the start of the war in late February.

The initial agreement was for 120 days and expires in November.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

Since the first vessel sailed under the deal on Aug. 1, more than 260 ships have passed through the grain corridor with over 6 million tons of products.

- Putin seeking ‘grand bargain’ with West

Kalin said Türkiye is doing its best to bring both sides back to the negotiating table, adding that talks are expected to resume at some point.

“The question is: When we will come back to it and how much damage will have been done by then?” he said.

Prospects of renewed negotiations have grown particularly bleak following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

Kalin said he had discussed the issue with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who was in Istanbul last week.

“Our understanding is that Mr. Putin wants to have a new grand bargain, a new deal with the West. It’s partly about Ukraine, no doubt. But the larger issue is really a new deal between Russia and the Western world,” he said.

“There is a new Russia, there is a new world, there is a new reality, and they want to have a new bargain,” he said.

This, according to Kalin, means that the “entire global liberal order is facing a big test,” read a CNN report.