The public will be informed about Russia's decision on the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative when it is made, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
"When the appropriate decision is made, we will inform you. This is the only thing I can say," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.
Peskov said contacts between all parties to the grain deal – which is set to expire this Thursday – are ongoing, and that several questions on issues concerning the implementation of the Russian part of the deal are still open.
On Monday, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said that talks to extend the Black Sea grain deal would continue over the coming days as Russia's deadline nears.
"Continuation of the Black Sea Initiative is critically important," Griffiths, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told the U.N. Security Council.
"In recent weeks, we have engaged in intensive discussions with the parties to the Black Sea Initiative to secure agreement on its extension and the improvements needed for it to operate effectively and predictably. This will continue over the coming days."
Meanwhile, Ukraine on Monday acknowledged the possibility that the agreement may end on May 18 and said no further negotiations are planned for this week.
Olha Trofimtseva, a Foreign Ministry ambassador, told a briefing that Ukraine was receiving conflicting signals about the deal's future.
Türkiye, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement last July in Istanbul to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February, to help tackle a global food crisis.
Over 30 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been exported from Ukraine since last August, according to the U.N.
Russia has sought the removal of obstacles to its fertilizer exports, namely banking restrictions, to agree to another extension of the grain deal during talks, most recently last Wednesday and Thursday.
