Türkiye will continue discussions to extend a deal that allows grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports for 120 days rather than 60 days, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday.
"We started negotiations in line with the initial version of the deal. The continuation of the deal is important. We will continue our contacts (regarding its extension) for 120 days instead of two months," Akar said, according to a statement by the Defense Ministry.
Parties of the deal will evaluate and decide on a further extension of the agreement, Akar also said, adding that Ankara hoped for a positive outcome.
He added that the deal had allowed the export of 24 million tons of grain and contributed to regional stability.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Çavuşoğlu and Lavrov discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative and bilateral relations.
No further details were given about the talks.
Since Russia and Ukraine signed the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Türkiye on July 22, millions of tons of grain and other food products have been exported from Ukrainian ports, helping lower global food prices from record highs.
The German government on Wednesday called on Moscow to extend the deal beyond 60 days. However, speaking at a regular news conference, a spokesperson said the agreement should continue indefinitely.
Russia on Monday suggested allowing the deal to be renewed for 60 days, half the term of the previous renewal, while the U.N. pledged to do everything possible to ensure the agreement's integrity remained intact.
On Tuesday, the Tass news agency cited Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying that a deal had been agreed upon for a 60-day extension.
"Indeed, the deal has been extended – it has been agreed that it has been extended for 60 days," Grushko said.
Ukraine said a 60-day extension "contradicts" the original agreement and would stick to the terms of the previously agreed deal based on a 120-day duration that can be renewed.
"We will follow the agreement strictly," a senior Ukrainian government official told Reuters. The official declined to be identified.
"The U.N. will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity," Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told reporters.
"The consultations ... with all parties and various levels continue."
Laerke, meanwhile, stressed the importance of renewing the agreement.
"It is a good agreement ... It has a very good impact on global food prices, bringing them down, getting food out on the market and to the right places," he said.
"So that is the prize we keep our eyes on, and consultations continue with that in mind."
