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Turkish President Erdogan has urged Russia to return to an agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain, easing a global food crisis. But Moscow demands concessions that only the West can offer.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed optimism about restoring a crucial UN-brokered grain deal after talks Monday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Moscow abandoned the deal, which created corridors for Ukrainian food exports amid a global food shortage, in early July. Russia complained that the West was blocking its grain and fertilizer exports.
What the two leaders said
At a news conference after three hours of talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Turkish president said he believed a solution could soon be found to revive the deal. With new proposals from the United Nations aimed at addressing Russia's concerns, Erdogan said he hoped a possible solution would be reached as soon as possible.
"We have prepared a new package of proposals in consultation with the UN. I believe that it is possible to achieve results. I believe that a solution will be reached soon that will fulfill Turkey's hopes." Erdogan also said that alternatives to the original wheat deal that have been floated by Moscow and Kiev "cannot provide a lasting solution."
Putin said that Russia was ready to revive the agreement "as soon as the restrictions on its exports are lifted. "We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain agreement... And we will do this as soon as all the agreements on removing restrictions on Russian agricultural exports," Putin said.
Why is the agreement important?
The agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey, allowed Ukraine to continue exporting wheat from the summer of 2022, securing global supply chains.
Since withdrawing from the deal, Russia has launched a barrage of attacks on the grain warehouses and port infrastructure of Ukraine, which is one of the world's largest suppliers of grain. It has said it will consider ships traveling to and from Ukrainian ports to be vessels that may be carrying military goods, and thus to be legitimate targets of attack.
The attacks also included two inland ports on the Danube, Reni and Izmail, both of which are on the water border with Romania and have gained increasing importance for Ukrainian exports.
Turkey's president has called on Russia to lift its blockade, underscoring the importance of the deal for food stability across the developing world. He emphasized that the agreement is also essential to maintain security in the Black Sea region itself.
Erdogan has tried to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kiev during the 16-month war in Ukraine and has refused to join other NATO members in sanctioning Russia.
Annalenna Baerbock, Germany's foreign minister in Berlin Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa/picture alliance
Russia is making global hunger worse, says Germany
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday accused Putin of playing "cynical" games.
"Russia is making global hunger worse," she said. "It's only because of Putin that freighters can't pass freely."
Baerbock added, however, that Erdogan's efforts to "get the deal back on track" are important.
Putin tha pas bisedimeve me presidentin e Turqisë se Moska ishte pranë arritjes së një marrëveshjeje për të siguruar grurë për gjashtë vende afrikane. Ai tha se Rusia do të furnizojë ushqimin dhe do të kryejë logjistikën pa pagesë, duke shtuar se furnizimet "do të fillojnë në dy javët e ardhshme."
Çfarë kërkon Rusia?
Putin thotë se që Rusia të kthehej në marrëveshje do të duhej të përmbusheshin disa kushte. Këtu përfshihet heqja e pengesave ndaj eksporteve ushqimore ruse, duke përfshirë edhe sanksionet perëndimore mbi pagesat, logjistikën dhe sigurimin e anijeve.
Erdogan ka treguar simpati për qëndrimin e Putinit. Në korrik, ai tha se Putin kishte "disa pritmëri nga vendet perëndimore" lidhur me marrëveshjen e Detit të Zi. Ai shtoi se është "vendimtare për këto vende të ndërmarrin hapa lidhur me këtë."
Recently, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "concrete proposals" to bring Russian exports to global markets. But Lavrov said that Moscow was not satisfied with the letter.
According to official Ukrainian sources, Russia had launched a "massive" drone attack on the Odesa region on the eve of the talks, damaging infrastructure in Izmail. The Danube waterway is now Ukraine's most important channel for exporting grain, with ships heading to the Black Sea via the Romanian port of Constanta, bypassing Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports./DW
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