Zelensky, Blinken thank Türkiye for role in saving grain deal

KIEV

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Nov. 2 thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his role in saving a landmark Black Sea grain export deal after Russia suspended its participation.

In a telephone call, Zelensky "thanked (Erdoğan) for his active participation in preserving the grain deal", he wrote on Twitter following Turkish efforts to revive the July agreement which has played a crucial role in easing a global food crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The United States also welcomed the restoration of a deal allowing safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, and urged Russia to renew it later this month.

State Department spokesman Ned Price praised U.N. and Turkish mediators but said it was important that the deal is "not only set back in motion, but it’s renewed later this month."

"That will ultimately inject even more predictability and stability in this marketplace and, most importantly, apply downward pressure to the prices" of global food, he told reporters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Türkiye for its efforts in a telephone call to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Blinken in the call also emphasized "reminding Moscow of the importance of continued adherence to U.N.-brokered agreements and its commitments to support global food security," a statement said.