President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Saturday the extension of the Black Sea grain deal, which was mediated by Türkiye and the United Nations, that was due to expire on Sunday.
Ankara was engaged in talks with both Russia and Ukraine to continue the agreement with conditions similar to the initial ones.
"As a result of our negotiations with both parties, we have ensured the extension of the agreement period expiring on March 19," Erdoğan said at a ceremony in Çanakkale.
Erdoğan thanked Russia, Ukraine and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for their efforts to extend the agreement once again.
"This agreement, which has provided the shipment of 25 million tons of grain to the world markets with more than 800 ships to date, is of vital importance for the stability of the global food supply," he added.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the deal "is extended for 120 days."
"Grateful to Antonio Guterres, President Erdoğan, (Turkish National Defense) Minister Hulusi Akar and all our partners for sticking to the agreements. Due our joint efforts, 25M tons of Ukrainian grain delivered to world markets," he said on Twitter.
Last July, Türkiye, the U.N., Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.
Meanwhile, the U.N. said in a statement that 25 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been moved to 45 countries, helping to bring down global food prices.
"We express our gratitude to the Government of Türkiye for the diplomatic and operational support to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
"The Black Sea Grain Initiative, alongside the Memorandum of Understanding on promoting Russian food products and fertilizers to the world markets, are critical for global food security, especially for developing countries," the statement said.
The U.N. said it remains strongly committed to both agreements and urges all sides to redouble their efforts to implement them fully.
