Istanbul, 17 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Russia and Ukraine have agreed to extend an agreement for Ukraine to ship grain across the Black Sea for another two months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday in Ankara.

It had initially been unclear whether Russia would agree to extend the crucial deal, which has allowed for grain exports to continue across the Black Sea despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The deal, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations (UN), is seen as significant for maintaining global food prices as Ukraine is among the world's top exporters of grain.

Erdoğan, in announcing the deal's extension, thanked his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, for his "sincere support." Erdoğan also thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his "constructive cooperation" and UN Secretary-General António Guterres for his efforts.

Russia imposed a naval blockade on Ukrainian Black Sea ports following its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The blockade, as well as fighting in Ukraine and stiff sanctions on Russian exports led to sharp price increases for food and fertilizers on the global market.

Russia has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the Black Sea grain deal over complaints that exports of Russian grain and fertilizers have been hampered by Western sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had last reiterated those complaints on Tuesday, sowing doubts as to whether or not Moscow would agree to extending the deal.

The Black Sea grain export deal first went into effect in July 2022. Since then, according to the UN, more than 30 million tons of agricultural goods have been exported on more than 1,000 ships leaving Ukrainian ports.

The deal allows for controlled exports from the Black Sea ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and the Pivdennyi Seaport near Yuzhne.

Representatives of the UN, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey inspect the shiploads in Istanbul to ensure that no weapons or other illicit goods are smuggled on board the ships.

If the agreement were not extended, it could lead to Russia's Black Sea Fleet blocking exports, which would deal a severe blow to Ukraine's economy and global supply chains.

The director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Germany, Martin Frick, welcomed the deal's extension:. "I am relieved that this vital corridor remains open. Given the crisis in Sudan, failure would have been a further escalation of the hunger crisis."