The Russia–Ukraine grain deal that facilitates export of Ukrainian agricultural exports via Black Sea ports has been extended by 120 days, according to Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Nations.
Guterres thanked Turkey for its leadership in brokering talks between the warring sides and has credited its leadership for the arrangement for helping alleviate food shortages.
“The initiative demonstrates the importance of discreet diplomacy in finding multilateral solutions,” Guterres wrote.
“Istanbul remains the centre of a remarkable diplomatic achievement.”
Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed the extension of the deal in a statement, adding that it expects that Russian concerns relating to easier conditions for its own grain and fertilizer exports will be fully taken into account in the coming period.
The move to pull out came in response to a drone attack on Russian naval vessels docked in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, for which Moscow has blamed Ukrainian forces working in tandem with what it called British military “specialists.”
Ukrainian officials have neither confirmed nor denied their country’s involvement in the Sevastopol attack on Russian vessels while Britain denied it had carried out the strike, though London hasn’t hidden the fact that it has been helping to train Ukraine’s forces and providing them with arms.
After Russia withdrew from the deal, NATO and the European Union urged Moscow to reconsider its decision, while U.S. President Joe Biden called Russia’s move “purely outrageous” and said it would increase starvation.
The Russia–Ukraine grain export deal has been credited with helping ease food shortages, with the U.N. saying that the arrangement helped reduce international food prices by some 15 percent since their peak in March.
