ANKARA, August 25. /TASS/. The resumption of the grain deal is one of Turkey's main priorities, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is working systematically in this context, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference in Kiev, where he is on a visit.
"The resumption of the grain initiative is a priority for Turkey. These agreements are of great importance for world food security. Our President is working very systematically in this context. We continue contacts and consultations with Ukraine, the UN, Russia and other countries," the minister said. The press conference was broadcast by the TV channel TRT.
Fidan refused to go into details about this work but noted that he "hopes for a successful result."
Fidan also said that Russia needs to be part of the grain initiative and brought back into the deal to secure port infrastructure which is critical to supply.
"We cannot approve of attacks on port infrastructure, which plays a key role in the grain supply process. And for this reason, we initially thought that Russia should be returned to the equation. In another solution, in an alternative that would not include Russia, we can expect <...> [risks for ports]. And we told our Ukrainian colleagues about it," he said.
"For this reason, we will continue diplomatic efforts in this direction," Fidan added.