Kuleba ruled out Kyiv’s plans to make concessions on grain deal

Kyiv will not agree to make concessions in favor of Russia on the grain deal. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba.

“But it is clear that we will stand up for all our principled positions, including on sanctions pressure on Russia,” he said (cited in Politics of the Country).

Thus, Kuleba commented on the statement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which he made at a press conference following negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In particular, Erdogan notedthat Ukraine needs to “soften its approaches in terms of joint steps with Russia.” Kuleba stressed that all decisions will be made after the Ukrainian side learns the details of the negotiations between the Russian and Turkish leaders.

Negotiations between Putin and Erdogan were held in Sochi on September 4. According to the Russian leader, the meeting was held in a businesslike and constructive atmosphere. Following the talks, Putin informedthat Moscow is ready to think about the resuscitation of the grain deal as soon as all the agreements recorded in it are fulfilled.

On July 17, Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin explained this by the failure to fulfill the second part of the agreement, which concerns, among other things, the lifting of restrictions on the supply of Russian products.