Ukraine: talks to extend the grain corridor begin within a week

Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yury Vaskov said on Friday that negotiations to extend the grain export corridor agreement across the Black Sea will start within a week.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered in July by the United Nations and Turkey, allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports blockaded by Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

The agreement was extended for an additional 120 days in November and is due for renewal in March. But Russia has signaled its dissatisfaction with some aspects of the deal and has asked for sanctions that are hurting its agricultural exports to be lifted.

Ukraine’s grain exports in the 2022-2023 season, which runs through June, fell 29 percent to 29.2 million tonnes in the period through Feb. 13 due to a poor harvest and logistical difficulties as a result of the Russian invasion.