MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin could speak with Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan at short notice if needed regarding the extension of the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin said on Thursday, as talks on the matter continue in Istanbul.
Russia has said it will not extend the pact beyond May 18 unless a list of demands is met to remove obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday he thought the deal, which allows for the safe export of grain and fertilizers from three Ukrainian ports, could be extended for at least two more months.
Asked to say whether Putin and Erdogan might discuss the issue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there were no such plans at present but added: “They call each other up very quickly when needed.”
He declined to comment on the state of the talks while they are still in progress.
The United Nations and Turkiye brokered the Black Sea export agreement last July to help tackle a global food crisis that has been worsened by Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the UN make up a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which implements the deal.
Putin could speak with Erdogan about Black Sea grain deal – Kremlin
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Putin could speak with Erdogan about Black Sea grain deal – Kremlin
- Russia has said it will not extend the pact beyond May 18 unless a list of demands is met to remove obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports
Five miners trapped deep underground after mudslide floods South African diamond mine
- The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to a labor alliance
- The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines
JOHANNESBURG: Five miners were trapped deep underground at a South African diamond mine after a mudslide flooded a shaft they were working in, mine officials and a labor union said Thursday.
The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions — an alliance of labor unions that includes the main mineworkers union. The congress said the miners were thought to be trapped around 800 meters (half a mile) underground.
Ekapa Mining General Manager Howard Marsden, whose company operates the mine, told national broadcaster SABC on Wednesday that rescuers were pumping water out of the shaft while a separate team was trying to drill a hole to where the miners were believed to be trapped to try to establish communication with them “or any proof of life.”
The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines and was at the heart of the global industry after diamonds were discovered in the area in the late 1800s.
The Minerals Council of South Africa said this month in its annual safety report that 41 miners died in mining accidents in South Africa last year, a record low and down from hundreds a year in the 1990s and early 2000s.
South Africa is among the world’s biggest producers of diamonds and gold, and the top producer of platinum.
