TURKEY: Following the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that the grain agreement that, according to the UN, helped to alleviate a food crisis by bringing Ukrainian grain to market would soon be revived. Russia withdrew from the agreement in July stating that the nation faced barriers to exporting its own food and fertilizer.
The United Nations and Turkish President Erdogan are working to convince Putin to continue the deal following their first face-to-face meeting since 2022. Erdogan stated that Turkey believes they will reach a solution that meets Russia’s expectations quickly.
He also mentioned that Turkey and the UN are working on a fresh set of recommendations to address Russian concerns and ensure everyone is aware of Russia’s expectations.
Putin suggested that Russia could return to the grain deal if the West complies with a new memorandum allowing Russian food and fertilizer exports. However, this would only happen if the West stopped preventing Russian agricultural products from accessing international markets.
Putin said that once all agreements on eliminating limitations on Russian agricultural exports are fulfilled, he would evaluate the idea of resuming the deal.
Putin argued that Russia’s suspension from the grain deal, which led to a drop in prices, contradicted Western claims of a food crisis. He also clarified that Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine aren’t applicable to Russian food and fertilizer exports. Despite Russia exporting record volumes of wheat in 2017, restrictions on payments, logistics, and insurance have hampered shipments.
Putin accuses the West of “cheating” Russia over a grain pact, as wealthy nations received over 70% of the grain shipped. Russia and Ukraine are top agricultural producers, with Russia expecting a 130 million tonne grain crop this year. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has sent proposals for renewing the agreement.
The Russian Agricultural Bank’s reconnection to the SWIFT global payments network is a Moscow goal. The EU cut off the bank in June 2022. Putin claims a plan to sell Russian grain to Turkey is not a substitute for the grain deal.
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