Cavusoglu also noted that the appearance of a Turkish bank as an intermediary is not excluded, but he does not see Western companies’ desire to work with these banks.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, UN Secretary-General António Guterres offered to connect one of the Turkish banks that could act as an intermediary in the grain deal operations.

Cavusoglu added that serious work is being done to extend the deal, but there are no guarantees.

The grain deal was penned in Istanbul on July 22, 2022.

The United Nations, the Russian Federation, Türkiye, and Ukraine signed two documents to open a maritime corridor for grain exports from the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny; and to remove barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilizers. jrr/iff/mem/amp