Extending Ukraine grain deal complicated

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that extending a deal that allowed grain exports from Ukraine to resume was becoming "complicated" as he claimed it was not being properly implemented.

Russia's military intervention last February saw Ukraine's Black Sea ports blocked by warships until a deal last summer allowed for the safe passage of exports of critical grain supplies.

The UN and Turkey-brokered deal will automatically renew on March 18 unless Moscow or Kyiv object.

But Lavrov said clauses in the agreement that provide for Russian grain and fertiliser exports were not being upheld.