Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday said that Ankara is working hard to extend a U.N.-backed initiative that has enabled Ukraine to export grain from ports blockaded by Russia following its invasion.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye last July, allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports.
The agreement was extended in November and is due to expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed upon.
"We are working hard for the smooth implementation and further extension of the Black Sea grain deal," Çavuşoğlu said in a speech at the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries being held in Doha, Qatar.
Çavuşoğlu also said he discussed the extension efforts with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
On Wednesday, Russia said it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account.
Russia's agricultural exports have not been explicitly targeted by Western sanctions, but Moscow says restrictions on its payments, logistics and insurance industries are a "barrier" to its own grain and fertilizers export.
Moscow's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had discussed prospects for renewing the deal at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the G-20 in New Delhi.
"(The) Russian side stressed that continuing the package agreement on grain is possible only if the interests of Russian agricultural and fertilizer producers, in terms of unhindered access to world markets, are taken into account," the ministry said in a statement.
Çavuşoğlu also stressed the need to support the development and progress of vulnerable nations at the conference.
On food security, he said, "It is a shame that we are nowhere near ending hunger in the 21st century."
"The (July 2022) Istanbul Grain Initiative that we brokered with the U.N. helped every household around the world, especially in the least developed countries by bringing down global food prices," he stressed.
