Erdoğan intensifies diplomacy to resolve grain deadlock

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has intensified his diplomatic efforts for the resolution of the deadlock in the implementation of the grain deal following Russia’s decision to suspend it and discussed the matter with both Russian and German leaders.

Erdoğan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Nov. 1, his office said, informing that the president focused on resolving the problem to avoid a major global food crisis.

Erdoğan has expressed his belief that the current problem on the grain deal will be resolved through common efforts in his conversation with Putin, the Turkish media reported. He also underlined the importance of the continuity of the grain deal that was signed in Istanbul between Türkiye, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine.

The move allowed the establishment of a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul with the participation of the authorities from four sides, which has observed the transportation of more than 9 million tons of grain from Ukraine to the world markets. Russia suspended its participation in the initiative after it claimed that Ukraine attacked its civilian and military vessels in the Black Sea.

Erdoğan’s diplomacy followed a series of phone calls by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts. Akar in his conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that it was of great importance to continue the grain initiative, which “makes a great contribution to the solution of the global food crisis and shows that all problems can be solved with cooperation and dialogue.”

Ankara expects Moscow to reconsider its decision to suspend the grain shipment initiative, which is a “purely human activity and which should be separated from the conflict conditions,” Akar told his counterpart on Oct. 31.

The minister noted that Türkiye would continue to do its part in ensuring peace in the region and humanitarian aid at all levels, as it has done so far.

Akar also discussed the latest situation about grain shipment with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, and Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on Nov. 1.

The Black Sea grain corridor is much faster and more convenient for grain transportation than the land route, the minister told his counterparts and added, “The initiative of grain shipment, which is a purely human activity, should be separated from conflict conditions.”

Türkiye “will continue to do its part in ensuring peace in the region and humanitarian aid at all levels, as it has done so far,” Akar added.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had a phone talk with his Russian counterpart on Oct. 31. During the conversation, the topics of the grain corridor, the latest developments in the Caucasus and the meeting of the 3+3 regional cooperation platform were discussed,” the Foreign Ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is suspending, but not ending, its participation in a deal for the export of Ukrainian grain to world markets.

He said maritime safety must be ensured and that implementing grain exports under such conditions was too risky.

“Ukraine must guarantee that there will be no threats to civilian vessels,” Putin said in a televised address on Oct. 31.

He stated that the Ukrainian drones had traveled through the same corridors the grain ships used. “And thus they created a threat both to our ships, which must ensure the safety of grain exports and to the civilian ships that are engaged in this,” he said. Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Russia notified the U.N. and Türkiye over the weekend of its plans to suspend the agreement for an indefinite period after Moscow accused Ukraine of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.

The July deal to unlock grain exports signed between warring nations Russia and Ukraine is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict.