UN urges for continuation of Black Sea grain deal as parties meet in Istanbul

WASHINGTON

The UN on Friday urged all parties to continue their discussions on the continuation of the Black Sea grain deal as they convened for a meeting in Istanbul.

“We urge all parties to continue their discussions, overcome operational challenges and work towards the full implementation and continuation of the initiative,” Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said at his press briefing.

Technical personnel from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine and the UN is meeting in Istanbul on Friday to discuss the Black Sea grain deal, which is set to expire later this month.

“Today, what we have is a technical meeting that the Government of Türkiye’s convened. So but we’ll see down the line, but our expectation is next week there will be a senior-level meeting taking place,” Farhan said.

The UN spokesperson said the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul has not reached an agreement on Friday to authorize new vessels to participate in the Black Sea initiative.

“The JCC continues its daily inspection work on the previously authorized vessels,” he continued.

Speaking as a guest speaker at the daily press briefing, Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said the Black Sea grain deal has played a significant role since it was signed because it “increased the availability of cereals to the world” and allowed “prices to fall”.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

The deal is set to expire on May 18.

• Black Sea grain deal
• Farhan Haq
• Russia
• Turkiye
• UN