U.S. State Dep’t notes “urgent need” to extend Black Sea Grain Initiative

The U.S. Department of State stressed the relevance and urgent need to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative against the backdrop of Russian attempts to thwart the effort and weaponize food supplies.

That’s according to a statement by the Department of State, published on its official Twitter page Wednesday, Ukrinform reports.

"There is an urgent need to extend and expand the Black Sea Grain Initiative to ensure ships are able to access Ukraine’s ports so more food can get to global markets.," U.S. State Department emphasized.

At the same time, the State Department quoted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying that the world “shouldn’t need to remind Moscow every few weeks to stop using people’s hunger as a weapon in their war against Ukraine."

As Ukrinform reported earlier, negotiations on the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative kicked off in Istanbul on Wednesday at the level of the deputy defense ministers of Türkiye, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as official representatives of the UN.