Türkiye's largest public lender, Ziraat Bank, may act as a mediator in payments for Russian grain and fertilizers, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Friday.
Çavuşoğlu told a live broadcast on TRT Haber that Ankara was still in negotiations with the Black Sea Grain Initiative's participants.
The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye last July, allows Ukrainian grain trapped by the conflict to be safely exported from the country's Black Sea ports.
The deal was renewed twice but Russia hesitates to renew it once again, saying that it has not benefited Moscow's interests.
Russia has repeatedly criticized the initiative and said it would not be extended beyond May 18 unless a list of demands is met.
Moscow wants the West to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer, including the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT payment system.
Other demands include the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and parts, lifting restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, the resumption of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and the unblocking of assets and the accounts of Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer exports.
The agreement created a protected transit corridor to enable exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds.
Under the pact, Ukraine has been able to export some 28.8 million tons of agricultural products, including 14.6 million tons of corn and 7.8 million tons of wheat, according to U.N. data.
