The Black Sea Grain Initiative will function for two more months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.
“Through the efforts of our country, the support of our Russian friends and the contribution of our Ukrainian friends, it was decided to extend the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement for another two months,” he tweeted Wednesday.
“We will continue our efforts to ensure that all the terms of the agreement are fulfilled and that it continues in the next period. In addition, our Russian friends have stated that they will not prevent Turkish ships from leaving the ports of Nikolaev and Olvia. We are grateful to them for this,” the Turkish president also wrote.
“We hope that we will see the days when the war between Russia and Ukraine will end first with a permanent cease-fire and then with peace. I would like to thank Russian President Mr. Putin for his sincere support of our efforts in this process. I would also like to thank the President of Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky, for his constructive cooperation. I would also like to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Guterres, for his efforts in this process,” he said.
As it was reported, the Black Sea Grain Initiative was concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 with the participation of the United Nations, Ukraine, Turkey and Russia. Its essence is to create a corridor for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports: “Chernomorsk”, “Odessa” and “Pivdennyi” in the conditions of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. The initiative was concluded for 120 days and was extended twice, most recently on March 18. However, while Ukraine claims it was extended for 120 days, Russia claims it was only for 60 – until May 18, and insisted on unblocking the operation of the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and lifting all sanctions on trade in Russian agricultural products and fertilizers.
Earlier, Maxim Urakin, PhD in Economics, founder of the Club of Experts, analyzed the pros and cons of the Turkish economy and Erdogan’s prospects for re-election on the air of the “WE-UKRAINE” TV channel. Read more in the video at the link –
