President Erdoğan to discuss new grain export mechanism for Ukraine with President Putin – Turkish Foreign Ministry

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Turkiye to discuss a new mechanism for exporting Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea.

sauce: Foreign Minister Turkiye Hakan Fidan said this in an interview with the Harbor TV channel on Sunday. Reuters

detail: President Putin is scheduled to visit Turkiye on February 12th. This will be the first visit by a Russian president to a NATO member state since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Fidan said efforts were underway to find “new ways” to transport Ukrainian grain to global markets.

The Turkish foreign minister said, “The previous grain agreement worked within a certain mechanism.Now we see the possibility of adopting a different mechanism, and efforts are currently being made to materialize this possibility.” ”, he said, adding that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had indicated his intention to raise it. This issue during talks with President Putin.

Fidan pointed out that even without an agreement with Russia, some ships were able to transport Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea.

“We want to make this virtually [situation] “The new mechanism is clear,” he said.

background:

On January 29, the Kremlin told President Putin: would visit Turkiye During February.
On January 31, Reuters reported, citing Turkish officials, that President Putin may visit Turkiye on February 12.
Russia unilaterally withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2023 and has since repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s port grain infrastructure. The grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye to ensure safe passage of exports from Ukrainian ports.
ukraine Successfully reopened Odessa Grand Port Military factors, in particular the attack on a Russian landing ship in August, made it possible without the involvement of a third party. [The three ports of Greater Odesa are Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny (Southern) – ed.]
As of December, More than 7 million tons of cargo were exported Since August 8, nearly 5 million tons of agricultural products from Ukrainian farmers have been shipped from the ports of Pivdeni, Odessa and Chornomorsk.