Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope for the extension of the wheat deal after May 18, when its validity period will expire. He informed about this on Sunday, on the air of ТRТ Turk television.

"We used the favorable atmosphere that was created between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia [Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin], both in terms of the exchange of prisoners and the organizing of a wheat corridor. We continue to work in this direction; we hope that the deal will be extended," said the Turkish president.

The matter of extending the wheat deal was discussed last week in a telephone conversation between the presidents of Turkey and Russia. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, informed on Friday that the Istanbul agreements are not being fulfilled in terms of the conditions regarding Russia, and in that regard, the prospects of extending the deal "are not very good." According to Hurriyet daily, the Turkish side will discuss the matter with representatives of the United Nations, the United States, and the United Kingdom in the coming days.