Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN are close to extending the grain deal after two days of talks in Istanbul, the Turkish defense minister announced on Friday. Hulusi Akar.

Russia has warned that the deal will expire unless it secures guarantees that its demands will be met by May 18. Akar’s comment was made public today Friday with a statement from his ministry.

The grain deal, which expires on May 18, will be extended by 60 days, with the decision likely to be announced first by the Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan, a source familiar with the negotiation process told TASS. “The agreement, I think, will be extended for 60 days, but Russia may agree for the last time. The decision to extend may be announced “traditionally” by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan after a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart (Vladimir Putin )”, said the source.

The same source did not rule out that the decision could be announced “today or tomorrow”. However, he characterized the possibility of extending the agreement as “gesture (of goodwill) from Russia” in the hope that its demands, enshrined in the Istanbul memorandum of July 22 last year, will be taken into account.