ANKARA, January 6. /TASS/. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed shipments of Russian and Ukrainian food to the world market as they met in Istanbul, a diplomatic source told TASS.

"Fidan said that Turkey does not want tensions in the Black Sea region. They also touched upon the issue of Turkey's efforts to ensure safe shipments to world markets of foodstuffs produced in Russia and Ukraine," the source said.

The Black Sea grain deal, an agreement that was concluded on July 2022 to provide safe passage for ships carrying Ukrainian grain, expired on July 18, 2023. Before it ended, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the terms of the deal were not fulfilled, where they provided benefits to Russia, and the West brought most of the Ukrainian grain to Western countries, while the deal was meant to supply grain to countries in need, including nations in Africa.

Afterward, Ankara and Moscow started discussing a plan to supply 1 million tons of Russian grain to Turkey at a lowered price with financial support from Qatar. The grain would then be milled into flour, which would be shipped to poor African countries.