ANKARA, November 4. /TASS/: Turkey will focus its efforts on the extension of the Ukraine grain deal, which expires on November 19, the Turkish presidential office cited President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday.
"It was noted during the talks that following the top-level diplomatic efforts with Russia and Ukraine, the functioning of the grain corridor was resumed and it was decided to focus efforts on the extension of the grain deal in the near future," it said.
The Turkish leader also stressed that Ankara calls for the resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine to stop the ongoing conflict between the countries. "Our president noted during the meeting that he thinks it necessary to return to the negotiating table to stop the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible and to create a possibility for a fair settlement of the conflict," it said.
Stoltenberg arrived on a visit to Turkey on Thursday. On the same day, he had talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and met with Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Friday.
The Russian defense ministry said on October 29 that following a terror attack committed by the Kiev regime "with participation of specialists from the United Kingdom" against Russian Black Sea Fleet ships and civilian vessels engaged to ensure security of the grain corridor, "the Russian side is suspending its participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of food from Ukrainian ports." On November 2, the ministry said that the Russia side had received Kiev’s written guarantees of the non-use of the grain corridor for military purposes and was resuming its participation in the grain deal, which expires on November 19. However, Moscow said it reserves the right to withdraw from the agreement if Kiev violated its commitments.
