MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. Ukraine is preparing to implement "some decisions" to extend the grain corridor’s operation, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Monday.
"We are preparing to implement some decisions of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the prolongation of the Grain Corridor," he wrote on his Telegram channel after a video conference call with the chiefs of the country’s special services, and defense and foreign ministries’ senior officials.
No further details were given.
European Commission Spokesperson Miriam Garcia said on July 25 that the European Union and Ukraine were negotiating possible alternative sea routes to export grain after the termination of the grain deal, including via Baltic ports.
Grain export issues have been the focus of meetings of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief following the grain deal’s termination. On August 4, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Alexey Danilov said that Ukraine would dispatch its ships loaded with grain across the Black Sea, despite Russia’s withdrawal from the deal. The topic of extending the grain deal was discussed by Turkish and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers, Hakan Fidan and Dmitry Kuleba, on August 5. Ukraine’s National Bank estimated losses from the grain deal’s termination in 2023 at $2 billion.
A package of documents geared to resolve the problem of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul and extended several times after that before ultimately expiring on July 17. Russia refused to extend it again because the part of the deal envisaging the removal of obstacles for Russian agricultural exports was never implemented. Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that Russia would resume the deal once its demands were met.