Ukraine pushes to extend wartime grain deal at talks with Russia, Turkey and U.N.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — The Ukrainian government is seeking to extend a wartime deal that allowed the country's grain to get to nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat, a top Ukrainian official said Thursday after the latest talks on prolonging the agreement.

The two-talks in Istanbul involved Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and United Nations officials but yielded no decisions for an extension. The deal is due to expire next Wednesday.

Additional discussions are expected in an online format, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said. He said in a statement released after the talks that the grain deal “should be extended for a longer period of time and expanded.”

“This will give predictability and confidence to both the global and the Ukrainian markets,” Kubrakov said. Previous extensions lasted 120 days and 60 days.

However, Russia opposes both broadening the agreement and its “indefinite expansion,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said after the talks. Moscow is considering proposals made by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and “the work, the contacts continue," Vershinin said.

If there is no consensus by May 18, the deal “will cease to exist,” the Russian diplomat said.

Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations depend on. In July 2022, Moscow and Kyiv signed an agreement with the United Nations and Turkey that outlined a process for shipments from three of Ukraine's Black Sea ports to resume amid Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

It has since been renewed twice, most recently in March. According to the U.N., the agreement establishing a safe shipping corridor from the Ukrainian ports to Turkey...