Qatar welcomes Black Sea grain export deal extension

Qatar has welcomed the extension of the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal for two more months.

In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Qatar's appreciation for the efforts made by the United Nations and the Republic of Turkiye and the role they played in extending the deal in a way that facilitates the unhindered flow of grain and food supplies and contributes to strengthening and ensuring global food security.

Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations met in Istanbul last week and continued talks to discuss the Black Sea deal and its future.

Turkey and the UN brokered the breakthrough accord with the warring sides last summer, which came with a separate agreement to facilitate shipments of Russian food and fertiliser that Moscow insists has not been applied.

Russia had threatened to bow out if its concerns were not ironed out by Thursday. Such brinkmanship isn’t new: With a similar extension in the balance in March, Russia unilaterally decided to renew the deal for a similar 60 days instead of the 120 days outlined in the agreement.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the deal had been extended to help countries in need, but added that Russia’s overall assessment of the agreement “has not changed”.

Meanwhile, Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar's support of all the international efforts aimed at finding a solution for the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.