Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Russia discussed grain deal

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov the situation around the grain deal and the situation in Ukraine, RIA Novosti reports citing the Turkish ministry.

“Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday. They discussed the latest developments in Ukraine and the situation with the Istanbul “grain deal” – told at the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

The prospects for extending the grain deal, which expires on July 17, were previously discussed by the presidents of Turkey and Ukraine. Vladimir Zelensky met July 7 in Istanbul with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The latter said that Ankara had made the greatest efforts to end the conflict through negotiations, and also recalled the first meetings of Russian-Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul in March last year and the launch of a grain initiative mediated by Turkey.

The Kremlin previously stated that the Russian part of the agreements on the grain deal is still not being implemented, and therefore there are no grounds for its extension. The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Moscow continues to fulfill its obligations and is making efforts so that all ships participating in the deal can complete their mission and leave the Black Sea before the deadline for its completion. According to the agency, the deal turned into a “purely commercial export of Ukrainian food to well-fed countries,” as 81% of grain exported from Ukrainian ports was sent to countries with high and upper middle income levels, and not to the poorest states, as was originally supposed. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only two ships of the UN World Food Program and 90 commercial grain carriers became participants in the initiative during the year.

The deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN, on the one hand, and representatives of Russia and Ukraine, on the other. As part of the negotiations, two agreements were signed between Moscow and Kiev. The first is for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chornomorsk, the second is for assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers.

The official decision of the Russian authorities has not yet been announced. The last time the grain deal was extended in May until July 17.