Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, stated during a briefing that the grain agreement has been extended for sixty days. Interfax reported that words guided the direction of the announcement. She emphasized that Moscow pursued a diplomatic path throughout the process.
On the eve of a phone conversation between the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Sergey Lavrov, discussions centered on extending the grain accord. Reports indicate that talks involving Hulusi Akar, the former Turkish defense minister, were moving forward with the aim of extending the agreement for one hundred twenty days. Despite those negotiations, Russia has so far opted for a sixty-day extension.
In Moscow, the decision to limit the extension to sixty days was tied to the current pace of progress regarding Russia’s food and fertilizer supplies. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin confirmed that the extension length reflected a selective assessment of the supply situation and the need for tangible progress before committing to a longer period. The communications stress that any further extensions would depend on measurable improvements in the production and delivery chains for agricultural products. (Attribution: Interfax, official briefings)