Vladimir Putin returns this Monday to meet with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Sochi, and with one item on the agenda: negotiating the restoration of the Black Sea grain deal. The meeting comes the day after a telephone conversation on the same subject, between the leaders of Ukraine and France, that Russian troops have returned to attack Ukrainian port infrastructure.
In mid-July, Russia withdrew the agreement on grains that the UN, brokered by Turkey, had reached a year earlier. The Russian regime complained that the agreement did not go beyond economic sanctions that limit Moscow’s access to international payment systems and insurance companies and effectively prevent the export of grains and fertilizers, despite the fact that these products are not subject to sanctions.
Moscow has expressed interest in returning to the accord if its demands are met, and has the solidarity of the Turkish strongman, who manages to maintain good relations with Ukrainians and Russians at the same time.
At the table, the Russian proposals will be discussed, which concern the integration of a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank) in the international payment system SWIFT and the unblocking of the frozen assets of Russian fertilizer companies in Europe.
According to the agreement reached in July 2022 and scrapped by Moscow a year later, the ships carried 33 million tons of grain from Ukraine.
During a visit to the Russian capital on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the relaunch of the agreement to transport Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea is “fundamental” for food security. According to the agreement, 33 million tons of grains were transported.
Turkey, which has strengthened energy ties with Russia by building corvettes and drones for Ukraine, wants the belligerents to return to the agreement and use it as a basis for broader peace talks. And it has Beijing’s backing. Talking to journalists on Friday, China’s ambassador to Ankara, Liu Shaobin, addressed the Turkish initiative and expressed hope for its success.
On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the talks after Ukraine reported that two more ships were passing through a temporary corridor Kiev created in August to ensure safe navigation to the Bosphorus Strait.
Precisely about this corridor, President Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone. “We discussed ways to ensure the functioning of the grain corridor and strengthen the security of the Odessa region,” the Ukrainian leader shared on social networks. The Russians warned that these ships could be considered military targets.
In addition, Ukraine is trying to channel grain across the Danube. An initiative that has been undermined by Russia, as happened again in the early hours of Sunday, when 25 drones attacked the infrastructure of the port of Reni, separated from Romania by the river. According to Ukrainian authorities, 22 of the devices were shot down. On the Russian side, it is claimed that fuel depots have been destroyed.
A day after Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky was charged with fraud and money laundering, a court ordered his two-month preventive detention or bail worth €13 million. His lawyers said they would appeal the decision and that Kolomoisky would not pay bail.
Source: DN
