UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday that discussions about the future of the grain deal will resume at a technical level in the coming days.
He said the mechanism should not stop.
"It's hard for me to say what will happen tomorrow. Perhaps progress will be made, but if we are talking about today, there are no [prospects]. But we all want and are determined to ensure that the work of the mechanism does not stop," the source said.
Apart from that, the source also noted that the top-level Turkish-Russian talks may become the last hope if discussions on the Black Sea grain deal fail to bring results.
“Yes, this will probably be the last hope, the stage when it is extremely clear that the talks [on extending the deal] are in a deadlock. But now I have nothing to tell you about the existence of such plans and, accordingly, about any terms, but they [negotiations] are possible," the source said when asked about the likelihood of top-level talks should progress not be made by May 18.
Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the UN reached an agreement on July 22, 2022 to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships carrying food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. On March 18, 2023, Russia extended the deal for 60 days, until May 18.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative is an integral part of a package agreement. The second part - the Russia-UN memorandum, designed for three years - envisions the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and a number of other measures. Moscow says this part of the package agreement has not been implemented yet.