Erdogan says Putin agreed to Ukraine grain deal extension
- The Kremlin, however, did not confirm the Turkish president’s claim about the Black Sea agreement, which is crucial to easing the global food crisis
- Putin had warned a day earlier that ‘not one’ of Moscow’s conditions for the deal to function had been met.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal which expires next week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Erdogan told reporters he had spoken with his Russian counterpart about the crucial deal allowing for the export of Ukrainian grain to ease a global food crisis.
The deal, signed five months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is set to expire on Monday, and Putin has repeatedly threatened not to renew it because of obstacles to Russia’s own exports.
“We are preparing to welcome Putin in August and we agree on the extension of the Black Sea grain corridor,” Erdogan told reporters.
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But when asked by Russian press agencies, the Kremlin spokesperson did not confirm Erdogan’s claims. “There is no statement about this from the Russian side,” Dmitry Peskov said.
Speaking in Jakarta, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Russia to extend the deal, warning that the most vulnerable countries would suffer without it.