Decision on Black Sea grain deal to be announced when it is made: Kremlin

ISTANBUL

The public will be informed about Russia’s decision on the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative when it is made, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

"When the appropriate decision is made, we will inform you. This is the only thing I can say," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.

Peskov said contacts between all parties to the grain deal – which is set to expire this Thursday – are ongoing, and that a number of questions on issues concerning the implementation of the Russian part of the deal are still open.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement last July in Istanbul to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February, to help tackle a global food crisis.

Over 30 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been exported from Ukraine since last August, according to the UN.

Russia has sought the removal of obstacles to its fertilizer exports, namely banking restrictions, to agree to another extension of the grain deal during talks, most recently last Wednesday and Thursday.