UN believes in extension of grain deal

Officials in the UN are optimistic that the Ukraine grain deal, about to expire in November, will be further extended and its scope expanded.

"Our view at the UN is we of course should seek its renewal, and I'm reasonably confident that we will see it (renewed) but also that it needs to go beyond a four-month cycle. We need to see it renewed for a year," Reuters quotes Griffiths as saying during a press conference in Geneva on October 10, responding to a question on the impact of the latest military escalations in Ukraine.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan are expected to travel to Russia within October to discuss the extension and expansion of the export deal with senior Russian officials, the UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said according to Daily Sabah. He also noted that UN officials are simultaneously working on a deal further facilitating the export of Russian grain and fertilizer.

Martin Griffiths discussed the extension of the grain agreement with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Vershinin at the end of September.

The so-called grain deal, formerly known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement, is made up of two agreements that were signed in Istanbul under the United Nations on July 22 to allow the export of Ukrainian grain products that were being denied exit because of the military actions in the country, as well as the export of Russian food and fertilizers.