ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2022) Turkey makes efforts to return Russian agricultural products to world markets during talks on the extension of the UN-initiated grain deal, a source in Istanbul told Sputnik on Wednesday.
The deal is in force until November 19.
"Now the main task is to remove all obstacles to the entry of Russian agricultural products, in particular fertilizers, to the markets. Indeed, in addition to grain, there is a need for Russian fertilizers. It is also important that countries in need can receive these products freely," the source said.
On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered initiative to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Black Sea ports. The initiative consists of two package documents. The first one, a memorandum, stipulates the obligation of the UN to remove various restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to global markets. The second defines the algorithm for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products from the Black Sea ports controlled by Ukraine. Moscow has pointed out that the first memorandum of the grain initiative is not working yet.
UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative Amir Mahmoud Abdulla said on October 15 that the grain deal was likely to be extended and, possibly, expanded. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, said that if it became known that the grain supply corridors were used by Ukraine to carry out terrorist attacks, the grain deal might be revised.
Russia has requested the UN Secretariat provide statistics on the final recipients of the grain exported from Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
