Russia leaves Istanbul-based grain deal center

ANKARA

Russian officials have left the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center (JCC) after Moscow suspended the implementation of the Black Sea grain deal on July 17, sources at the Turkish Defense Ministry have informed.

The JCC was established by the agreements signed between Türkiye, the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine in July 2022. Five officials from each of the four sides were present at the JCC to coordinate the process and check the cargo. Sources stressed that the Russian officials left the JCC after Russia said it will not extend the initiative after July 17.

Moscow announced that it will consider resuming the grain initiative only if conditions for exporting its own food products will be provided. Russia said it cannot export its grain and fertilizers due to the secondary sanctions that impede payments, insurance and other procedures.

“We are in favor of the continuation of this deal with the participation of all four sides. We are enduring our efforts to this end. We will keep the JCC operational with a sufficient number of staff as long as our efforts continue,” sources stressed.

Türkiye is in contact with both the Russian and Ukrainian sides as well as U.N. officials for the removal of obstacles before the grain deal. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held phone conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his hopes for the resumption of grain export and stressed his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin is also in favor of the initiative. Erdoğan also said Putin will likely pay a visit to Türkiye in August and he will discuss all these issues with him in person.

Around 33 million tons of grain have been transported from Ukraine since the initiative began. This helped to mitigate the problems regarding food supply to the poor nations after the war started in February 2022. Russia and Ukraine are the two largest grain producers in the world.