Shafaq News/ UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposed a "pathway" for extending the agreement on Ukraine's grain exports on Tuesday.

In a statement released after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Guterres' media office said that the Secretary-General delivered a letter to President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposal for improving, prolonging, and expanding the agreement that has allowed the export of Ukrainian grain by sea since July 2022, despite the conflict.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed by Kyiv and Moscow in July 2022, with Turkiye and the United Nations serving as intermediaries to ease the global food crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.

The agreement allowed the export of nearly 25 million tons of corn, wheat, and other grains. In addition, it was set to be automatically extended for the same 120-day period unless one of the two parties notified the other of its intention to terminate or amend it.

Moscow threatened to suspend its participation in the Black Sea Initiative agreement, which expires on May 18, if its demands are unmet.