US' national security advisor says grain deal extension 'good thing'

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - The US national security advisor characterized the extension Wednesday of a Black Sea grain deal as "a good thing.”

Jake Sullivan said, alongside White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre in a news gaggle, that "we will continue to support efforts to ensure the grain gets to global markets."

Sullivan voiced disappointment that Russia rhetorically continues to hold the deal hostage in various ways to suggest its days are numbered, "even in a moment of extension".

"We just think the world deserves certainty that this corridor for grain will be there on a sustainable basis. So that the world can continue to be fed, in particular poor countries," he said, emphasizing the importance of the deal.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the deal, which was set to expire Thursday, was extended for two months.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine initially signed the agreement in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were halted after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

The deal has been extended three times since it was first signed for 120 days. It was first extended in November 2022 and then in March.