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Turkey to use all levels of influence over West to resume grain deal, expert says

According to Amur Gadzhiyev, Turkey’s wish to restore the grain deal is based on a strategic need for the country to remain a major food and energy hub

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Turkey will make every effort to influence the West in order to resume the grain deal, Amur Gadzhiyev, director of the Center for Contemporary Turkish Studies, told TASS.

He pointed out that Ankara would try to make sure that the West made progress in implementing the Russia-related part of the deal by the next meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. According to the expert, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has become a bargaining chip between Turkey and the West, and Ankara is confident that it will be able to achieve positive results. Gadzhiyev stressed that Turkey had "a great arsenal of levers of pressure on the collective West, primarily the European Union." "First, it’s security: Turkey is the collective West’s southeastern outpost. Besides, there is the March 2016 deal on refugees, which Turkey has been respecting. There are also a number of other aspects related to the fight against terrorism, trade and economic issues," the analyst specified.

He noted that Ankara knew how to use its geopolitical influence and pointed to the situation around the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland.

The expert believes that Turkey’s wish to restore the grain deal is based on a strategic need for the country to remain a major food and energy hub. "According to Turkey’s current strategy, positioning itself as a hub is a priority goal. I think that Ankara will do everything possible to achieve it," Gadzhiyev emphasized.

On Wednesday, Putin and Erdogan held their first phone call in more than five weeks. The presidents agreed to make preparations for a meeting and discussed trade and economic ties between Moscow and Ankara, as well as the implementation of energy projects and cooperation in the field of tourism. Putin stressed that Russia was willing to cooperate with Turkey and other interested parties in developing ways to deliver grain to the countries in need. Erdogan, in turn, stated that Turkey would make active efforts to use diplomacy to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The grain deal came to an end on July 17.

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