Ukraine: grain deal to have 120 days extension

The grain deal involving Ukraine’s grain being exported via the Black Sea will be extended for 120 days, says Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure.

The decision has been recently made in Istanbul during a negotiation involving Turkey and the UN. Ukraine has addressed its partners, suggesting that the deal be extended for at least one year and the port of Mykolaiv be added to it, the minister added.

According to Kubrakov, Ukraine has exported more than 11 million tonnes of agricultural products to 38 countries as part of the initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products across the Black Sea since 1 August. “This is a significant amount, but not enough. We need to use the entire export potential of our ports so that the world can quickly receive the necessary supplies,” the Ukrainian minister said.

The grain deal was agreed upon on 22 June, assuming it would last 120 days until 19 November and be extended automatically should neither side (Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the UN) be against it.

The extension of the deal has been confirmed by Ukraine’s President Zelensky. “[The] grain deal will be prolonged for 120 days. Ukraine, together with António Guterres and Recep Erdoğan, made [the] key decision in the global fight against the food crisis. Waiting for [the] official announcement from partners: Turkey and the UN,” he wrote on Twitter.

A safe maritime channel will be open for Ukraine’s ships loaded with grain departing from the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.

Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN signed an agreement regarding the exports of Ukraine’s grain via the Black Sea on 22 July. On 29 October, Russia withdrew from the “grain deal”, blaming the “massive strike” via drones on ships and infrastructure of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. Erdoğan and the Russian Defence Ministry announced that the grain corridor would resume operation on 2 November.