Uncertainty remained on Monday over the future of the Black Sea grain deal, seen as key to global supplies, hours before it expires at midnight (21:00 GMT) in Istanbul, AFP reported.

In Ukraine, heavy fighting continues on the front line, where in some areas the Ukrainian counteroffensive hits Russian counterattacks, but Kyiv troops are slowly advancing around the city of Bakhmut and in the south.

All weekend, silence and caution surrounded last-minute maneuvers by Turkey and the United Nations to persuade Moscow to extend the grain deal signed in July 2022 on the Bosphorus.

Last year, despite the war, it guaranteed the safe passage of cargo ships to and from Ukrainian ports, which transported almost 33 million tons of grain destined for world markets.

But Russia did not give the green light, and the “Grain Initiative” is now de facto at a dead end.

“As of June 27, no transit request has been approved by all parties,” the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), which oversees the Istanbul Agreement, said in a press release.

The last cargo vessel approved by inspectors from the four signatory parties, the Turkish bulk carrier TQ Samsun, left the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Sunday and is bound for Istanbul, the Marine Traffic website reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is confident: on Friday, he assured his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that he “agrees” with him on extending the deal.

But the Kremlin spokesman immediately replied that no statement was made in this regard.

Putin has repeatedly condemned the obstacles to the export of Russian food products and fertilizers, which should accompany the export of Ukrainian products.

He also said on Saturday that “the main goal of the agreement, the delivery of grain to countries in need, especially on the African continent, has not been achieved.”

According to official CCM data, China and Turkey are the main beneficiaries of the supply, along with developed economies.

But thanks to the agreement, the World Food Program (WFP) was able to provide aid to a number of twelve countries in critical situations, including Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.

Hence the participation of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who, according to his spokesman, had numerous discussions.

At the end of the week, he met with officials of the European Union, whose sanctions are hampering the activities of Russia’s main agricultural bank. Nothing came of these discussions.

Intense battles

Ukraine reported heavy fighting on the eastern front with Russian forces on Sunday, and Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV that no progress had been made in the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June.

The Ukrainian General Staff noted that its army is continuing its offensive in the southeast, where, according to him, on Friday it advanced another two kilometers to the occupied city of Melitopol and from where it is trying to advance to the Sea of ​​Azov to cut off the Russians. lines and isolate Crimea.

To the east, to the north, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar admitted that the situation has “escalated” due to attempts by Russian troops to counterattack in several areas where the Ukrainian army occupies a “defensive” position.

But she stressed that Ukrainian forces were “gradually advancing” near Bakhmut, a small town that came under Russian control in May after months of bloody fighting.

Each gained meter is “already a big victory,” the commander of the artillery division of the 22nd Ukrainian mechanized brigade told AFP.

“People must understand the price we pay. There are many enemies. We need time to defeat them,” he added.

Backed by heavy weapons from the West since June, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been slowly advancing against Russian forces, which have managed to build solid defenses, including heavy minefields, and still have enough firepower to strike Ukrainian forces.