Ankara,Turkey – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed during a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the deal to ship grain across the Black Sea..
Last week Turkey announced the extension of the deal that has allowed exports of Ukrainian grain to resume following Russia’s invasion, but it was unclear if it had been prolonged for 60 or 120 days.
Russia said it had agreed to a 60-day extension, while Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said the deal had been extended for 120 days.
Turkey and the United Nations did not specify the duration.
“Following talks with the two parties, we have assured the extension of the deal that was due to expire on March 19,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments broadcast on Turkish television just hours before the agreement was due to expire last Saturday.
“This deal is of vital importance for the global food supply. I thank Russia and Ukraine, who didn’t spare their efforts for a new extension, as well as the United Nations secretary general.”
On July 22 last year, Istanbul witnessed the signing of the “Initiative for the Safe Transportation of Grain and Food from Ukrainian ports” between Turkiye, Russia, Ukraine, and the UN.
The deal was extended for 120 days in November 2022.
The agreement included securing stranded grain exports in Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea in eastern Europe to address the global food shortage, which threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.
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 percent of food exports going to developing countries, the UN said in a statement last week.
Zero-waste project
Turkish Foreign Minister and the UN chief also discussed Turkey’s zero-waste project.
Cavusoglu will accompany Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan during her visit to New York on March 30 to attend a session to mark International Day of Zero Waste.
As a special guest of Guterres, Erdogan will make a call for the zero-waste project implemented in Turkey to be expanded worldwide.
In 2017, under the auspices of Erdogan, Turkey launched the zero-waste project to highlight the importance of eliminating waste in fighting the climate crisis.
The project has drawn international praise, with Guterres expressing his gratitude to Turkey first lady during a conference in New York last September.