Turkey, Russia may discuss Black Sea grain deal

Turkish and Russian leaders may soon discuss a UN-backed initiative that has enabled the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, but there is no date set yet, a source familiar with the negotiations on the deal told RIA Novosti on Monday.

Broader negotiations on extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative that has allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports are expected this week, Ukraine said.

The agreement is for renewal in March, but Russia has signalled that it is unhappy with some aspects of the deal and has asked for sanctions affecting its agricultural exports to be lifted.

"The topic of the grain deal, proposals in this regard are always on the agenda of the leaders. Therefore, it should not be ruled out that the leaders will touch on this topic at talks in the near future," state-owned RIA news agency quoted its source as saying.

When asked when these negotiations could take place, the source said that he "does not have exact data on the date." 

(Reuters)