Turkish President Erdogan hoping to extend grain initiative

ISTANBUL. July 10 (Interfax) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he is counting on extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"I hope that we shall achieve results through our joint efforts," Turkey's Anadolu state news agency quoted Erdogan as saying during a press conference following a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

"We are undertaking efforts to extend the duration of the initiative. We are also looking into the possibility of extending the agreement for three months rather than for two months. We shall also undertake efforts to increase the period to two years," Erdogan said.

Erdogan noted that he had discussed the extension of the initiative during the current meeting with Zelensky and "as part of telephone diplomacy" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We plan to continue discussions with the Russian leader as part of a personal meeting scheduled for next month. This is one of the main issues on our agenda," Erdogan said.

The Grain Initiative expires on July 17.