Participants in a quadripartite meeting in Istanbul to discuss the future of the Black Sea Initiative with senior officials from Ukraine, Turkey, the UN and the Russian Federation on Thursday discussed, among other things, recent UN proposals, namely the resumption of operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline.

"The meeting discussed (also) the longer extension of the deal, improvements at the Joint Coordination Centre for stable operations and exports, as well as other issues raised by the parties," according to the message of the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) on the UN page.

Speaking at the meeting, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, congratulated the parties on facilitating the safe export of over 30 million metric tonnes of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine since the beginning of the Initiative. He reiterated the importance of the Initiative for global food security and also recognized the important contribution of food and fertilizer exports from the Russian Federation in this regard.

"The parties presented their views and agreed to engage with those elements going forward. Mr. Griffiths stressed that the United Nations will continue to work closely with all sides to achieve the continuation and full implementation of the Initiative, in pursuit of their broader shared commitment to addressing global food insecurity," the report notes.

Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Restoration of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook at the end of the meeting that the UN and Turkey, as signatories of the initiative, understand that it is critically important for world food security and must function stably.

"Therefore, at their suggestion, further consultations on unlocking the Initiative will be extended online," he wrote.

According to him, the Ukrainian delegation once again stressed that the grain initiative should be extended for a longer period and expanded.

"This will give predictability and confidence to both the global and Ukrainian markets. But, first of all, it is necessary to resume the registration of the incoming fleet and conduct inspections without artificial delays and in accordance with the JCC procedures," Kubrakov stressed.

The Turkish Defense Ministry on Twitter called the negotiations on the extension of the grain initiative positive and constructive. Earlier, Turkey noted that at these negotiations it would raise the issue of evacuating from Ukraine the ships and their crews under the Turkish flag that had been stuck since the beginning of the war.