(Adds background)
ANKARA, May 11 (Reuters) - Progress was made in talks on
the Black Sea grain deal held in Istanbul by the deputy defence
ministers of Turkey, Russia and Ukraine as well as U.N.
officials, Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
The parties agreed to continue four-way technical meetings
on the deal, which is set to expire on May 18, the ministry said
in a statement.
The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea export
agreement last July to help tackle a global food crisis that has
been exacerbated by Moscow's war in Ukraine. It allows the safe
export of grains and fertilisers from three Ukrainian ports.
Russia has said it will not extend the pact beyond May
18 unless a list of demands is met to remove obstacles to its
own grain and fertilizer exports.
The deputy ministers and U.N. officials held two days of
talks on the deal in Istanbul on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Wednesday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
said
he thought the Black Sea grain deal could be extended for
at least two more months.
The Kremlin said
on Thursday
that Russian President Vladimir Putin could speak with his
Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at short notice if needed
regarding the extension of the deal, adding that there were no
such plans at present.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Huseyin Hayatsever;
Editing by Daren Butler and Gareth Jones)
