Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Ukraine needs to “soften its stance” on the Black Sea Grain Initiative and “take steps shared with Russia” to make the deal work.
“Ukraine obviously needs to soften its positions in order to adopt measures that are shared with Russia,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi.
The Turkish leader stressed that this must be done without delay so that the grains can reach “the poorest countries in Africa”.
“If 40% of these grains are sent to European countries, it is clear that Russia does not view this positively, and rightly so,” he added.
Erdogan specified that so far “14%” of shipments have been sent to Turkey under the grain deal and “about 6% to African countries”.
At the same time, the Turkish president, who arrived in Russia just to talk about the deal that Moscow had left last July, did not give further details about what steps he believes Kiev must now take to contribute to the resumption of the crisis. . concept.
Along with the UN, Erdogan was one of the brokers of the original agreement, known as the Black Sea Initiative and signed in Istanbul in the summer of 2022, allowing Ukraine to safely export its grain production.
Putin, in turn, claimed that the West had “cheated” Russia, claiming that the grain deal had humanitarian purposes.
“Of the 32.8 million tons exported from Ukraine, more than 70% ended up in rich countries, mainly in the European Union,” said the Kremlin leader.
According to Putin, countries in need received only 3% of the grain that departed through Ukrainian ports, that is, “less than a million tons”.
The Russian president has rejected the signing of a new agreement for the transportation of grains across the Black Sea until the West complies with Moscow’s demands.
Putin criticized that the West continues to block “Russian demands” over the deal. “They are refusing to lift the sanctions on the export of our grains and fertilizers, and to resume the supply of farm equipment and spare parts,” he explained.
The meeting in Sochi was the first meeting between Putin and Erdogan after Moscow suspended the agreement to export grain through the Black Sea, arguing that the “Russian side” had not been respected.
After the meeting with Erdogan, Putin said Russia was finalizing an agreement to supply free grain to six African countries.
Since the agreement ended, Russia has heavily bombed Ukraine’s southern ports and grain silos, while Kiev has sought alternative export routes for goods, which Erdogan has opposed.
“The alternative proposals on the agenda cannot provide a sustainable and secure model based on cooperation between the parties such as the Black Sea initiative,” said the Turkish president.
Erdogan specified that Turkey was “preparing a new set of proposals, in consultation with the UN” to revive the deal, which is crucial for global food supply.
The quadripartite agreement allowed maritime traffic from Ukraine’s southern ports, which the Russian fleet blocked in the region.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s largest grain producers and global supply was seriously affected by the war between the two countries in February last year, affecting food security in the most vulnerable countries and escalating commodity prices.
Source: DN
