Turkish top diplomat in Ukraine for talks on grain deal

KIEV

Türkiye’s top diplomat Hakan Fidan held talks with senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodomyr Zelensky, on the ongoing Russian occupation of Ukraine and the resumption of the grain deal in his first visit to Kiev under his new capacity as the foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Fidan arrived in Kiev on Aug. 25 and met Zelensky and his counterpart Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba as well as Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the President during his visit.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a photo from the Fidan-Zelensky meeting without giving any detail.

According to the Ukrainian media, the two sides’ officials discussed the peace formula Ukraine has tabled for ending the war with Russia, preparations for the Global Peace Summit and the resumption of the grain deal.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had earlier said that Fidan will also visit Russia in the coming days after his talks in Ukraine in order to boost Ankara’s endeavors for the resumption of the grain deal.

Türkiye and the U.N. have long been working with Ukraine and Russia after Moscow said it cancelled the deal because of the continued restrictions on its own export of wheat, fertilizers and other food products.

The deal was brokered in July 2022 which allowed the transportation of more than 30 million of tons of wheat from Ukraine to the world markets. The grain deal was effectively ended on July 17, 2023.

Despite efforts for the unilateral resumption of the wheat export both from Russia and Ukraine, Ankara believes that a new agreement with the two sides is required to restart the initiative.

Ankara is also in talks with both sides for a potential launch of peace talks to end the war that started in February 2022. President Erdoğan has been recalling to both sides that there will be no winners of the war and no losers of the peace.

Erdoğan also said he is planning to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming period.