President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday that the revival of a key deal with Russia that allowed Ukraine to export its grain via the Black Sea “depends on Western countries which must keep their promises.”
“Undoubtedly, the solution to this problem without further stalemate depends on Western countries fulfilling their promises,” Erdoğan told the 14th Ambassadors Conference in the capital Ankara.
“I think a solution can be found,” he said, referring to a recent telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who refused to extend the accord.
Türkiye was a key player in the now-collapsed deal that allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea despite the blockade of its ports after Moscow launched its invasion in late February 2022.
The accord, brokered by Ankara and the United Nations in July 2022, ended last month after Moscow refused to renew it. Ankara has ramped up efforts to try to revive the initiative.
Erdoğan’s office last week said the two leaders had agreed on Putin’s visit to Türkiye. No timetable was provided, but Erdoğan on Friday said he hoped that the trip would occur in August.
Türkiye has positioned itself as an intermediary in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Erdoğan was a key player in brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Moscow withdrew from the accord on July 17, accusing the West of hampering its own grain and fertilizer exports, and has since attacked Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure. It has said that it was ready to return to the deal once an accompanying agreement concerning Russia was implemented.
Erdoğan said last month he hoped Putin’s planned visit could lead to the restoration of the grain deal and called on Western countries to consider Russia’s demands.
He on Tuesday said Türkiye was the “key country” in the settlement of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, adding Ankara followed a “balanced and fair” attitude since the first day to resolve the issue.
Ankara’s talks with the parties are underway for the resumption of the Black Sea grain deal, he added.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last week said Erdoğan was the only person who could convince Russia to return to the initiative.
Moscow exited the deal complaining that the international community had failed to ensure that Russia could also freely export its agricultural products. Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports are not subject to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its military actions in Ukraine. But Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have been a barrier to shipments.
Erdoğan has vowed Türkiye would press ahead with “intensive efforts” and diplomacy to reestablish the deal and told Putin that the long-term deactivation of the initiative “will not benefit anyone” and that countries in need would suffer the most.
For his part, Putin had asked the Turkish leader to help Russia export its grain to African countries vulnerable to food shortages.
About his phone call with the Russian leader, Erdoğan on Tuesday said he had the opportunity to re-get information about Russia’s demands and expectations firsthand.
“Putin, like us, is sensitive about the access of our African brothers to grain products. I believe we can find common ground on this issue,” he added.
The grain deal aimed to alleviate a global food crisis, and grain prices have risen since Moscow let it expire. Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.
Nearly 33 million tons of Ukrainian grain was exported while the Black Sea deal was operational.
Source: Daily Sabah
