OREANDA-NEWS  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, during telephone talks on Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, announced the need to extend the "grain deal," Sabah newspaper writes, citing sources.

Earlier, the office of the Turkish leader reported that during the talks, the leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine. Erdogan announced new initiatives that working groups can develop. In the message of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the "grain deal" there is a detailed set of arguments about the efforts being made, but who is still there, the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov said earlier.

"During the talks, President Erdogan stated the need to extend the validity of the grain corridor, and Putin replied that "we attach importance to Turkey's proposal," the newspaper writes.

The grain deal, which was signed by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN on July 22, 2022, involves the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizers via the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The package agreement also provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, Moscow noted that this was not fulfilled, while the UN had assurances that these restrictions would be lifted. Earlier, Russia extended the Black Sea grain initiative for 60 days - until May 18.