ISTANBUL, July 17. /TASS/. Ankara did everything it could to save the grain deal, an unprecedented diplomatic success, until the last moment, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.
"The Black Sea initiative, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary, will go down in history as a diplomatic success. Over 33 million tons of agricultural produce was exported thanks to its implementation, which made it possible to avoid a food crisis. Turkey was making efforts to save the grain deal until the last moment," Erdogan told reporters before departing on a trip to Persian Gulf states.
According to Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to prolong the grain deal.
"I believe that my friend Putin would like this humanitarian bridge to remain in operation, and I will hold negotiations with Putin as soon as I return from the trip," the Turkish leader said.
He also announced a phone call between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"Our Foreign Minister will hold negotiations with his [Russian] counterpart today. I hope we will quickly bridge the gap. I will have a phone call with Putin even before August, we will take steps in this direction," Erdogan said, answering a reporters’ question about the probability of restoring the grain deal before Putin’s visit. Previously, Erdogan said that Putin may visit Turkey in August.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had officially notified Turkey, Ukraine and the UN Secretariat about its objection to the extension of the grain deal. According to the spokeswoman, the Foreign Ministry will soon publish a statement with a detailed explanation of Russia’s position.
The agreements on food exports from Ukraine were signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 for 120 days and then extended three times. One of the agreements facilitates the procedure for exporting grain from ports controlled by Kiev. The other part deals with access to world markets for Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that some points of the deal were not implemented, including the agreement that the majority of the grain must be sent to the poorest countries. They also pointed out that obstructions are being created for shipments of Russian food and fertilizer to the global market.