Turkiye’s foreign minister stated that renewing a contract to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea was “critical” for food security during a visit to Moscow on Thursday.
Reviving Ukraine grain deal: Hakan Fidan, the foreign minister of Turkey, and Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, both spoke to the media at the same time. “We underlined its critical role for global food security and stability in the Black Sea,” they added.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin are due to meet informally next week in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, which is why Fidan was in Moscow preparing for it.
Last month, Russia withdrew from the grain accord supported by the UN and facilitated by Turkiye.
Since then, Russia and Ukraine have been making efforts to start transporting grain in violation of the agreement.
Turkiye wants the conflicting parties to revisit the deal and use it as the foundation for more extensive peace negotiations.
Fidan stated, “I underlined our conviction that revitalising the initiative will restore stability.
Moscow claims that by restricting Russia’s access to international payment and insurance networks, the prior deal imposed indirect limits on its exports of grains and fertilisers.
Lavrov reiterated Russia’s steadfast stance that it will rejoin the agreement whenever its demands are satisfied.
Turkiye intended to start a “process focused on understanding and meeting Russia’s demands,” according to Fidan.
In the year it was in existence, the agreement assisted Ukraine in exporting more than 30 million tonnes of grain and food.
This reduced the rise in global food prices following Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and reduced famine in regions of the Middle East and Africa.