Erdogan Says Black Sea Grain Deal Extended for Two Months

Vessels, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, wait for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul, Türkiye 12, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
Vessels, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, wait for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul, Türkiye 12, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
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Erdogan Says Black Sea Grain Deal Extended for Two Months

Vessels, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, wait for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul, Türkiye 12, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
Vessels, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, wait for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul, Türkiye 12, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, one day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports.

The flow of ships through the corridor had been grinding to a halt during the last few days with the deal apparently set to expire on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the last remaining ship registered to travel through the corridor had left a Ukrainian port.

UN data showed that the DSM Capella had left the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk carrying 30,000 tons of corn and was on its way to Türkiye.

"The Black Sea grain corridor deal has been extended by two months with the efforts of Türkiye," Erdogan said in a televised speech, also thanking the Russian and Ukrainian leaders and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for their help.

A spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry said they would be commenting later on the reported extension.

The United Nations and Türkiye brokered the Black Sea deal for an initial 120 days in July last year to help tackle a global food crisis that has been aggravated by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, one of the world's leading grain exporters.

Moscow agreed to extend the Black Sea pact for a further 120 days in November, but then in March it agreed to a 60 day extension - until May 18 - unless a list of demands regarding its own agricultural exports was met.

'Open questions'

To convince Russia in July to allow Black Sea grain exports, the United Nations agreed at the same time to help Moscow with its own agricultural shipments for three years.

"There are still a lot of open questions regarding our part of the deal. Now a decision will have to be taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Asked on Wednesday about how the talks were progressing, Peskov told a briefing he would not enter into "hypothetical discussions" on what Russia would do if the grain deal lapsed.

Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN met in Istanbul last week to discuss the Black Sea pact.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week he thought the deal could be extended for at least two more months.

While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.

The United States has rejected Russia's complaints. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said last week: "It is exporting grain and fertilizer at the same levels, if not higher, than before the full-scale invasion."

Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN make up a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, which implements the Black Sea export deal. They authorize and inspect ships. No new vessels have been authorized by the JCC since May 4.

Authorized ships are inspected by JCC officials near Türkiye before travelling to a Ukrainian Black Sea port via a maritime humanitarian corridor to collect their cargo and return to Turkish waters for a final inspection.

In an excerpt of a letter seen by Reuters last month, Russia told its JCC counterparts that it would not approve any new vessels to take part in the Black Sea deal unless the transits would be done by May 18 - "the expected date of ... closure".

It said this was "to avoid commercial losses and prevent possible safety risks" after May 18.

Some 30.3 million tons of grain and foodstuffs has been exported from Ukraine under the Black Sea deal, including 625,000 tons in World Food Program vessels for aid operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Yemen.



Iran’s President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
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Iran’s President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he believes Iran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on his country, according to an interview released on Monday.

"I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks," Pezeshkian told conservative US podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted on Saturday.

The Iranian leader urged US President Donald Trump not to be drawn into war with Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.

"The United States' president, Mr. Trump, he is capable enough to guide the region towards the peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place. Or get into a pit, an endless pit, or a swamp," Pezeshkian said. "So it is up to the United States president to choose which path."

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she was not sure if Trump had seen the Iranian president's comments, but agreed he was the right man to move the region towards peace.

Pezeshkian blamed Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, for the collapse of talks that were in place when Israel began its strikes on Iran on June 13, starting a 12-day air war with Israel in which top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists were killed.

"How are we going to trust the United States again?" Pezeshkian said. "How can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?"

Pezeshkian also said that Israel tried to assassinate him.

"They did try, yes," he said. "They acted accordingly, but they failed."

Israel did not immediately respond to the allegation. A senior Israeli military official said last month that Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists in its attack on to Iran's nuclear sites.

Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Netanyahu, praising the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success. On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran's nuclear program had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere.

Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon.