Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to urge his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to return to the negotiations table over the Black Sea grain initiative that lapsed in July.
“We will soon have a meeting with Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin and say, ‘Let’s do whatever we can to operate the Grain Corridor,’” Erdogan said, according to Google-translated comments reported by Turkish news outlet Haberturk. “Hopefully, we will continue on our way by getting positive answers from him.
First inked in July 2022, the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative sought to allow the circulation of exports of Ukrainian and Russian agricultural and fertilizer goods, in a bid to abate a global food shortage after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The deal was repeatedly renewed in short increments, before Russia allowed it to lapse, citing discontent with perceived restrictions on the dispatch of its own exports. Turkey played a significant part in mediation.
Since the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Kyiv has set up what it calls a temporary humanitarian corridor, attempting to resuscitate its export flows without Russian approval. The U.N. has said that efforts to achieve a new agreement over a broader Black Sea corridor should continue despite this temporary Ukraine-led arrangement, according to Reuters.