Russian, Turkish FMs discuss Ukraine, grain deal in phone call

July 09, 2023 / 7:01 PM

Turkey's new Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Sharjah 24 – Reuters: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea grain deal in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Sunday, Russia's foreign ministry said.

Moscow has been threatening to quit the deal allowing the safe export of grain and fertiliser from Ukrainian ports because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertiliser have not been met. The deal expires on July 17.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he was pressing Russia to extend the deal, brokered last year by Ankara and the United Nations, by at least three months.