Erdogan urges Guterres to extend cross-border Syria aid mechanism

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken on the telephone with the UN chief and said the extension of the cross-border aid mechanism to Syria in July will be of "great importance," according to a Turkish Communications Directorate statement.

Erdogan and Antonio Guterres discussed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and developments in Syria and Sudan on Friday.

He said Türkiye, as a country that can establish a dialogue with both sides, is ready to cooperate with the UN to invite the parties in Sudan again to peace talks and help resolve their differences.

Underlining the importance of the continuation of the Black Sea grain deal, Erdogan said they are ready to participate in the working group to be formed with an inter-institutional delegation in case of an agreement on the ammonia pipeline.

The UN said Guterres and Erdogan exchanged views on how to guarantee the expansion and extension of the grain deal as well as the exports of Russian food products and fertilizers.

They also discussed the situation in Syria and Sudan, it added.

Russia wants obstacles to the exports of its fertiliser to be removed to agree to another extension of the grain deal which was signed in Istanbul last July between Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine.

The deal will expire on May 18.