There were no statements from the Russian side regarding the extension of the grain deal, Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik.
The statement follows media reports, that claimed, citing Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, that the Turkish leader allegedly agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the extension of the grain deal.
On July 22, 2022, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations came to an agreement to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor for vessels transporting food and fertilizer from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. This comprehensive package deal also included a memorandum between the United Nations and Russia, with the aim of facilitating the export of Russian food and fertilizer.
The grain deal has a set expiration date of July 17. Moscow has previously agreed to all previous extensions of the deal but raised concerns that the memorandum component was not being fully implemented.
Specifically, the Russian side addressed the need to reconnect the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT and resume fertilizer transit through the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline. This pipeline was partially destroyed in June in an act of sabotage, which Moscow claims was carried out by Kiev.
Media reports on Wednesday revealed that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had suggested to Russian President Vladimir Putin the extension of the Black Sea Initiative for a few more months. This proposal aims to keep the initiative intact until the European Union can successfully link a subsidiary of the Russian Agriculture Bank to the SWIFT system.
The following day, Secretary-General Guterres expressed his optimism that the proposals outlined in his letter to President Putin would contribute to prolonging the grain exports agreement, officially referred to as the Black Sea Initiative.