Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced he has reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the grain agreement.

This agreement, which expires on July 17, allows for the export of grain from ports in the Black Sea region of Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on July 14, Erdoğan expressed hope that the agreement would be extended.

Last year, this agreement was mediated by Turkey and the United Nations, several months after Russia launched a wide-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Previously, the European Commission had stated that it is assisting the UN and Turkey in extending the agreement and is considering “all possibilities” in this regard.

Russia has consistently threatened not to extend the agreement. It has put forward a series of demands, such as lifting restrictions on Russian agricultural exports and connecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system. Earlier this week, the UN offered Russia access to the SWIFT system, in an effort to extend the grain agreement.

The grain agreement has helped alleviate the global food crisis, which worsened due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports during the war.

Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s largest exporters of grain.