ISTANBUL, August 2. /TASS/. Turkey will continue active efforts and use diplomacy to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"The President stressed that Turkey will continue active efforts and use diplomacy to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative," the Turkish President’s office said in a statement following the telephone conversation.
The Turkish President’s office added that Erdogan called the Black Sea Grain Initiative a "bridge of peace" and noted that the suspension of the grain deal for a long time would not benefit anyone and low-income countries in need of grain would suffer the most.
Erdogan also noted that after the suspension of the grain deal, grain prices increased by 15%, and during its implementation they decreased by 23%.
The two presidents also discussed the settlement in Ukraine. The Turkish leader, as his office reported following the talks, called for avoiding steps that might contribute to the escalation of the conflict.
"President Erdogan called for avoiding steps in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that could lead to its escalation," the statement reads.
The grain deal ended on July 17. Last week, speaking at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa forum, Putin said that Russia had originally agreed to participate in the deal on the condition that its terms to remove illegitimate obstacles to the supply of grain and fertilizers from Russia to world markets would be observed. But none of these conditions was met.
In turn, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin noted that the grain deal could be resumed "in a new form," but this requires concrete action on the part of the West.