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(ANSA-AFP) - ISTANBUL, MAY 12 - Turkey said on Friday that
talks to extend a deal allowing grain exports from Ukraine via
the Black Sea following the Russian invasion were nearing an
agreement. "We are heading toward an agreement on the extension
of the grain deal," Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in
a statement. Akar was referring to talks in Istanbul this week
between officials from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United
Nations. The United States and Britain on Tuesday pressed Russia
to extend again the deal, accusing Moscow of exploiting global
hunger for advantage in the war. The Black Sea Grain Initiative,
in place since July after diplomacy by the United Nations and
Turkey, allows Ukraine grain exports via port, helping ease
shortages and resulting price spikes triggered by Russia's
invasion of the breadbasket nation. (ANSA-AFP).
