Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky discussed a deal of exporting grain from Ukraine, Türkiye’s presidential office said in a statement on Friday.
During a phone call, Erdogan thanked Zelensky for his “constructive stance” on extending the agreement on the UN-backed grain export deal.
The Turkish leader also asked Zelensky to consider expanding the positive understanding on grain agreement and prisoner exchange to the negotiation table, including a possible cease-fire.
A day earlier, Erdogan announced that the Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement will be extended for 120 days as of November 19, after four-way talks hosted by Türkiye.
On July 22, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document with Türkiye and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In a separate phone call earlier in the day, Erdogan also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for extending the deal.